In the Shadow of the Obelisk
by Cosmic Sky
Summary: It all started when a Control Spire appeared in New York and it all seemed to get worst from there. Ken started to think to he was going insane. Then Jun ended up getting dragged into the Dark Ocean. Next everyone learned Davis had a stalker. And all that was before Daemon showed up.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own anything.

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Tides <strong>

Willis was loving the beach, being from the rocky and mountainous part of the country he rarely got to go swimming or even gave water any thought. All that changed when Michael invited him to spend a day at Orchard Beach in New York.

_Wouldn't be a bad way to spend Spring Break._ He thought when he said yes. His parents had both agreed on the promise he was careful didn't talk to strangers or end up lost at sea. After they said that he heard two light snickers from the stairs. _If any of those things ever happened I'm pretty sure I could use Terriermon or Lopmon to help me back. _

"I should come down here more often." Willis said closing his eyes in pure bliss. From all around him he could hear his fellow DigiDestined playing in the water and Terriermon and Lopmon playing in the sand. _I love life when it's this quiet and peaceful. _He thought preparing to let himself drift off into a short nap. _No evil digimon or madmen trying to destroy the world. _

"WILLIS!"

"Ah!" The blond-haired youth jumped at the sound of Michael's urgent voice. His eyes snapped open to see people fleeing in terror. Parents grabbing screaming children swimmers make haste to get out of the water as fast as they could.

"What the?!" Wills was grabbed by Michael and pushed aside to avoid getting trampled by stampeding masses. "Michael what's going?"

"That." He said with a grim face pointing to the open sea.

Following Michael's finger Willis suddenly wished he hadn't taken up his fellow DigiDestined's offer.

Fighting in the middle of open water were what Willis believed to be a MarineDevimon and a MegaSeadramon that looked different to Willis. Its colors were off, instead of turquois, gold and white its body was a light shade of purple and it was obliviously stronger than it should have been.

"Is that a Seadramon?" Willis asked running alongside Michael to where their fellow Digidestined were busy trying to contain the two behemoths.

Michael held up his digivice and immediately a picture of the odd colored sea serpent sprung up.

**Name: WaruSeadramon **

**Level: Ultimate **

**Attribute: Virus **

**Bio: WaruSeadramon is an Ultimate level dark aquatic digimon. Just as its name implies it's one of the nastiest creatures in the digital sea. If its Dark Blast doesn't end you then its Evil Icicle and Strange Mist will make you wish it did. **

No sooner did Willis finish reading the description did WaruSeadramon hurl MarineDevimon onto the water then it turned its cold eyes to Phil and Flarerizmon.

"Dark Blast!" The sea serpent roared firing a concentrated blast of dark water at the pair who had hung back on sand.

"Sub-Zero Ice Punch!" Came Frigimon's voice sending a fist-shaped blast of cold air and ice at the blast.

The two attacks collided sending ice shards into the deep sea. WaruSeadramon turned its hateful glare at Steve and Frigimon letting them know they were its next target.

"Phil make sure everyone gets out of here!" Willis called to his dark-skinned friend. Quickly he took off with Flarerizmon to intercept MarineDevimon who had resurfaced. "Terriermon! Lopmon!" Willis shouted holding up his Digivice.

In union with the Digivice both big-eared digimon were engulfed in spheres of light before disappearing revealing Gargomon and Wendigomon in there place. Likewise Michael shot a bright light out of his Digivice into Betamon, turning him into Seadramon.

Back in the water Steve was wishing he and Lou had a plan for fighting the Virus-attributed sea serpent. Frigimon and Tortomon had tried grabbing WaruSeadramon only for it to either slither out of their grasp or shake them off.

"Ya' know for something so slim it's got a lot of power!" Frigimon said grabbing onto WaruSeadramon's horn.

"It won't after this!" Tortomon roared before tucking himself into his shell then launch himself toward the Virus digimon.

Much to the two Champions' shock black bolts of electricity arched from WaruSeadramon's horn shocking both of them and their partners. With one swipe from its tail it had knocked all of them into the shore, it pointed its horn ready to put an end to them before a yellow ball of energy slammed into is eyes making WaruSeadramon roar in pain.

Riding on top of Centarumon Maria called out to both her friends. "Get out of the water, we have to draw him onto the land." She looked over to see Airdramon and Flarerizmon blasting MarineDevimon with fireballs while Tatum and Phil ushering the frightened beach- goers away. "That way Centarumon!"

Picking up his speed Centarumon continued firing his Solar Ray directly at the aquatic digimon's face earning its hateful glare.

"Dark Deluge!" It horrid voice screeched unleashing a black-colored sludge from its mouth.

"Maria!" Centarumon cried throwing his partner off just as the attack nailed him head on. The centaur-like Digimon groaned in pain feeling every muscle in his body go numb. He couldn't move even when he saw the MarineDevimon looming over him with burning red eyes.

Just before it could bring one of its tentacles down Wendigomon slammed into its chest knocking it back into the sand. With a roar of fury it swung all its tentacles at the furry digital monster but Wendigomon was too agile, instead using the pale appendages as leaping pads.

"Koko Crusher!" He roared firing a pink ball of energy directly in between the evil digimon's eyes. Putting both hands together it brought its fists down right on top of MarineDevimon's head.

"Thank you Wendigomon, now here's some pay back!" Centarumon said firing his ( ) into MarineDevimon's chest knocking him back further.

Airdramon and Flarerizmon bombarded it from behind while the children continued scanning the beach for any other civilians.

Meanwhile in the water Willis and Michael could only watch in suspense as WaruSeadramon continued shrugging off Gargomon's and Seadramon's attacks. Seadramon knew he was outmatched by his bigger and stronger evolutionary brother while Gargomon had enough trouble trying to stay out of the water and avoid WaruSeadramon's fierce attacks.

"We need a plan here." Willis said grinding his teeth. "Pretty soon the police and possible the National Guard are going to be out here and we can't let them get involved."

"You're right so we're going to have to do as Maria said; lure him onto the land." Michael said "I have an idea, if we can lure him onto land then we can hold him down and finish-"

"HELP!" came a frightened female voice from the water.

Wide-eyed both blonds snapped their heads to see a dark-haired girl their age crying desperately as she was battered back and forth between the waves. Steve and Lou came up to them with their partners right beside them.

"Willis and I will go get her, Steve, you and Michael focus on WaruSeadramon." Lou said helping the Colorado native on top of the gigantic turtle.

Quickly agreeing on the plan the group set out into the water which had now begun to resemble a storm. Frigimon continually creating a bridge of ice by freezing the sea water giving Gargomon stable platforms while Tortomon speed toward the girl still crying out for help.

Much to everyone's surprise and horror WaruSeadramon caught sight of the girl and took aim at her. "Evil Icicle!" A dark icicle was launched from its horn in lightning speed.

"Gargo Laser!"

"Ice Blast!"

The ice blast and green colored bullets collided with the icicle, exploding in a violent clash that stirred up even stronger waves. Willis growing impatient jumped off Tortomon and began swimming toward the firl with a speed he never knew he had.

"Hang-on I'm almost there!" He called hoping his voice would reach her.

The girl's green eyes caught Willis's and she began swimming as fast as she could towards him. He caught her in his arms before calling to Lou and Tortomon. In no time they were there with Lou helping them aboard the digital turtle.

"Are you okay?" Willis asked the girl holding her shivering body.

"Y-Y-Yeah." Her quiet voice answered him. "W-What are those things?"

"Um, we'll explain that later. For now just hold tight." Willis said as Tortomon began speeding toward the shore line. Suddenly Willis's Digivice began flashing red turning his attention back to the shore. "Wendigomon!"

MarineDevimon had gotten back on its feet and was now thrashing its tentacles widely at everything in sight. In retribution for the earlier attacks it had gotten a hold of Wendigomon and was now taking its time in squeezing the life out of the Champion.

"Neck Hanging!" Its horrible voice breathed into Wendigomon's ears as it raised him high into the air.

"Not today!" Airdramon screeched wrapping its one serpentine body around MarineDevimon's neck. Right up close it blasted the fallen digimon with three fireballs.

Letting go of Wendigomon in favor of removing Airdramon the aquatic Ultimate left itself open to a painful blast of fire from Flarerizmon. Its rubber-like skin turned black on contact with the flames causing MarineDevimon to scream in pain once more. To the humans its pain-filled screams were pure agony to hear. Gargomon had made it back to the shore and begun pelting it with round after round of ammunition. Soon Centarumon joined in in blasting it with its Solar Ray.

"We got it on the ropes now." Came Tatum's voice.

"I don't think so Tatum." Phil countered when he saw MarineDevimon swiftly turn around blasting everyone with its Dark Deluge while it retreated into the sea. "Heads up guys!" Phil called to Michael and the others who were still battling WaruSeadramon.

WaruSeadramon had been observing the battle while it fought off the second group of Digidestined. When it saw MarineDevimon retreat under their combined assault it knew the time was right to finish off its prey. It broke away from Frigimon and Seadramon and like a shark in the water it jetted towards the other aquatic Digimon.

"Is it too much to hope that they take each other out?" asked Frigimon to Seadramon.

"Doesn't matter, just be ready to take on whoever survives." Seadramon answered.

Before the clash between the two evil marine digimon could began an earthquake began shaking the area. Overhead the once clear skies had suddenly become dark and ominous. A cold feeling washed over the American DigiDestined and their partners as they watched MarineDevimon raise its arms to the sky as if in some form of gratitude.

From just behind him a jet-black obelisk rose through the water, rising higher and higher until it was visible for all to see for miles away.

Michael's blood ran cold at the sight of the Control Spire. _But…that's impossible! We've defeated everyone who could have summoned one of those things!_

"GAH!" All the children's eyes snapped over to see Frigimon shrinking back in pain as the water around WaruSeadramon and MarineDevimon began turning black. Frigimon's snow-while body was rapidly gaining black spider-like cracks in it causing the Champion to haul in serve pain.

"Frigimon what's wrong?!" Steve called from Frigimon's shoulder.

"T-The water! Th-There's something wrong with the water!" Frigimon managed to get out.

"Frigimon! Steve!" Tatum called from on top Airdramon who flew in close. "Grab on!"

Airdramon dipped his tail down and with all his might lifted the ice type Digimon and his partner out of the water and back onto land. The air dragon collapsed into the sand after such a mighty feat. "You…really should lay off all the ice cream." He managed to wheeze out.

"Guys now what do we do?" Maria asked slightly fearful as the sky began growing darker and darker.

Willis finally having reached his limit with the two evil Digimon gripped his Digivice. "I'm ending this now."

"Dark Wing!" MarineDevimon screeched loudly suddenly releasing a massive blast of air that blew back WaruSeadramon and created a thirty-foot tidal wave heading straight for the shoreline.

"Ice Blast!" Seadramon roared blasting a freezing beam of ice at the tidal wave.

Frigimon managed to get to his feet in time to stand alongside his comrades. "Sub-Zero Ice Punch!"

Airdramon, not one to be outdone rose to the skies once more. "Spinning Needle!"

The combined ice blasts froze the tidal wave just as the vacuum blades cut them apart ending the danger. Back in the water WaruSeadramon and MarineDevimon continued their battle with MarineDevimon having seemed to have gained its second wind.

Willis looked down at his Digivice now radiating a bright golden glow. He looked over at Gargomon and Wendigomon, both had resolve in their eyes. Willis held up his Digivice at Gargomon and opened his mouth to voice his command but went silent when a search light blinded him and his friends.

"Well there's the National Guard." Steve said covering his eyes from the light.

"Stay right where you are and don't move a muscle!" came a voice from one of the helicopters.

"Evil Icicle!"

Three icicles flew past the group, two managed to hit two of the helicopters while the third moved back.

"Airdramon!" Tatum called to her partner.

The air dragon wrapped its tail around the damaged aircraft to gently lower it to the ground. The second saw Wendigomon catch it in his big arms and lower it to the ground.

"Incoming!" Flarerizmon warned jumping in front of Phil as more icicles rained down.

Willis and the girl he'd saved ducked under Wendigomon who had used his body to cover them while Gargomon proceeded to shoot the icicles out of the sky along with Centarumon.

WaruSeadramon slammed into the shore looking angrier than ever, in one swift swipe of its tail it knocked the group back. Singling out Michael it dove towards him but the blond rolled away just in time for Seadramon to bite deeply into the evil serpent's tail and hall him back into the water.

Willis searched frantically for his Digivice which he had let go off when WaruSeadramon attacked. Cursing himself he continued searching not realizing he was in the shadow of an unstable lifeguard tower.

"Look out!" the red head grabbed him and hulled him out of the aside just as it collapsed. She looked him in the eye, fear present but also with some courage as well. "Are you looking for this?" she held up his Digivice.

"Yeah it is. Thanks." Willis took the Digivice in hand, pointing it at Wendigomon. "Wendigomon!"

Snapping his head into attention the furry Champion welcomed the light that shot out of the tiny device. Wendigomon's shape changed from that of a bulky beast to that of a tall, slender humanoid rabbit. Next he pointed it at Gargomon, the light grew three times brighter and transformed into the shape of a strange egg.

"Golden Armor Energize!" Willis called making the light grow even bright.

Gargomon was engulfed in a sphere of golden light and when it disappeared he was now a shining armored warrior whose light illuminated the entire beach.

"Lou!" Maria cried from the sides as MarineDevimon resurfaced before the Native American youth.

Instead of fear Lou's eyes narrowed. "Now Tortomon!"

The tortoise digimon sprung up from the sand slamming into MarineDevimon. "Shell Phalanx!" The spikes on his shell expanded in rapid speed impaling the aquatic monster all over. When it pushed off it found Phil and Flarerizmon waiting.

"Blaze Buster!" The fire lizard roared blasting MarineDevimon back into the water.

"Solar Ray!" Centarumon said blasting a fully charged blast of solar energy right into its chest again.

"Dark-" MarineDevimon began.

In a flash Antylamon was before him, "Bunny Blades!" In a few swift motions the Ultimate level Digimon swung its transformed arms all over MarineDevimon.

With one last cry of agony MarineDevimon fell back into the water before breaking apart in a mass of dark clouds and data that disappeared moments after reappearing.

"It's time to send you back to where you came from!" Frigimon growled having caught WaruSeadramon in between its jaws. "Subzero Ice Punch!" He nailed the Virus Digimon repeatedly in its left eye until it let out a major howl of pain then threw into the air.

Airdramon wasted no time in blasting it with scores of wind blades and tornadoes that left the Digimon slithering back into the water.

"Not so fast!" Rapidmon declared with Willis on his shoulder. "Rapid Fire!" A series of missiles left the armored digimon's gun arms, exploding violently in the water.

Rapidmon followed WaruSeadramon back to the Control Spire, his golden light erasing the darkness that had once spread through the sea like poison. Finally cornered WaruSeadramon turned back preparing a blast from its horn only to feel Seadramon's tail smack him right in the face. Gathering all his power the Champion Digimon blasted his Ice Blast at WaruSeadramon point blank, leaving him frozen together with the Control Spire.

"Miracle Missile!"

Rapidmon's golden blast annihilated both the Control Spire and WaruSeadramon. In their place a black whirlpool formed, releasing trails of black smoke then vanished completely. The dark clouds once polluting the sky vanished revealing the sun once more.

Once they were back on the shore Seadramon, Rapidmon, and Antylamon de-digivolved back into their rookie forms.

In the distance they could hear sirens blaring and they realized the pilots of the down helicopters were beginning to wake up.

"I think now might be a good time to run huh guys?" Steve offered.

Everyone broke into a mad sprint while their Digimon did the same, eager to find some hiding place to avoid being seen.

As Willis ran with Michael to his right, the red-headed girl to his left, and his partner Digimon in his arms he had one thought in his head: _I gotta call Izzy and the others as soon as I can!_

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><p>The morning the DigiDestined walked into school none of them could focus exactly as much as they should have. The night before they'd all been awoken by some strange feeling in their guts. Some like Davis thought it was just the aftermath of eating too many cheese dogs for dinner while others like Cody and T.K. knew it was something more. They got their answer when in the morning while they were all getting ready for school they turned on the news: giant monster attacks in Orchard Beach, New York City. The reactions were similar though a little varied: T.K., Kari, and Cody had ate their breakfast quietly while their eyes stayed glued to their respective televisions, Davis had a look of one part shock and one part anger on his face as he stared at the screen, Yolei felt a cold feeling grip her heart when she saw the Digimon battling each other and the Control Spire. Even when her siblings shook her to see if she was alright she only had one thought in her mind.<p>

_Ken… _

The previously mentioned was a whole different story. The moment he walked in to find the news playing he went as still as a statue. When the camera zoomed in on the Control Spire Ken felt he was going to have a heart attack right there in his own kitchen in front of his parents.

"Ken?" He heard his parents and Wormmon call.

Ken could barely hear them as he felt himself slowly start to lose balance until he felt his father catch him. _Will this nightmare ever end? _He thought even as he ate breakfast. He could tell his parents and Wormmon were worried so he put on a brave, happy face. He hoped they didn't see past it.

At lunch time the younger group of DigiDestined sat in the computer lab eating their launch while they talked about the previous night's events. The older generation were out for the day on a field trip but they knew the moment they were back they'd all need to call a meeting.

"Alright! Alright!" T.K. said calming everyone down. "Okay so let's go over what we now for; a Control Spire appeared after MarineDevimon and WaruSeadramon started fighting each other."

"And the area around the Control Spire started turning black." Cody put in. "From what Willis was able to tell us from his e-mail it seemed like MarineDevimon somehow summoned it."

"But that's impossible!" Davis said. "Ken's with us now, Oikawa and MaloMyotismon are gone so there's no one else who could use them."

Everyone nodded at Davis's statement knowing without a debt it was true. Yolei shot a glance over at Ken who she had been keeping an eye on ever since she saw the Control Spire on the news.

"Ken I know we've asked this before but is there anyone you know of who could use the Control Spires?" T.K. asked.

Ken shook his head without his eyes ever leaving his hands. "No, no one else could manipulate them. Not to mention I don't even see the point, with all the dark spores gone I don't see what's to be gained anyway."

"Ken's right." Wormmon said crawling onto his friend's shoulder.

"That and there's no one else left." Gatomon said. "Devimon and MaloMyotismon are gone so there's no one strong enough to even do that."

"Well…not everyone." Yolei spoke up.

"What do you mean Yolei?" Davis asked.

"Well…I didn't want to think about it but we have seen a MarineDevimon before…" her voice was unusually quiet leading everyone to the same conclusion.

"Daemon." T.K. growled clenching his fist.

After they'd defeated him the Digidestined had preferred not to talk about the robe-wearing evil Digimon. Besides MaloMyotismon he was the closest any of their enemies had ever come to truly defeating them. Even after their victory they'd still paid him so thought but quickly dismissed the evil Digimon.

"But again it's impossible because Daemon's trapped in the Dark Ocean." Patamon said resting on top of T.K.'s head.

Unknowingly Kari flinched at the mention of the black and white world she'd nearly been trapped in. Tai was probably the only one who knew in detail but Kari still had nightmares about the Dark Ocean and the red-eyed…things she mistook for Scubamon.

Again Cody shook his head. "But still, the portals to the Dark Ocean are pretty rare and those that do are so small you've got a better chance of missing them than entering one."

"Yeah unless they decide they need to find you and kidnap you." Gatomon countered.

Growling in anger Davis ran his hand through his hair. "Gah! We just took care of Armageddemon barely full year ago and already we've got trouble knocking at our door again!"

The other five Digidestined could understand their leader's anger. After Armageddemon they all hoped some new evil digimon wouldn't appear until they themselves were in high school, not when they were just in their last year of junior high.

Sighing to himself Cody emptied his lunch tray in the trash. "Well for better or for worse it's happening. For now all we can do is wait for this afternoon when Izzy and the others get back so we can form a plan of action."

Silently they all agreed with Cody's plan then discarded whatever trash was left from their lunch. Leaving the classroom all the children had somewhat ashen and serious looks on their faces with their digimon holding similar expressions. Kari and Ken being probably the deepest in thought.

Just before returning to class Ken went to the boys' bathroom to wash his face. He knew he needed to calm down before he had a heart attack or became paranoid. The cold water felt good against his skin until he realized it felt a little too cold.

"Still having flashbacks Ken?"

Immediately Ken's eyes traveled through the bathroom even the stools. When he found no one he returned to the sink only to find the water had changed from blue and white to black. It wasn't draining either.

"What…the…" Ken reached into the sink, his whole body shivering the moment his fingers touched the handle.

"You can't run away from destiny Ken."

Spinning on his heels Ken glanced around the room again. He was alone yet he knew for a fact he wasn't, there was something or someone else here with him. He practically feel someone or something breathing down on his neck. Cold and icy to the point he wondered if there was a block of ice taped to his neck.

"Huh?"

Ken's hand shot to his neck expecting to it to feel wet and cold, it was but that was from the sweat pouring down his neck. He looked down to see the water wasn't black and was draining away. Looking at the clock he realized classes had started back up. Turning off the water he headed out the door hoping his next class would take his mind off the issue.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own anything.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: My Kingdom for a Guitar <strong>

"That's it I give up." Matt said slumping back in his seat and stuffing his guitar back into his bag.

"I figured you were gonna do that." His best friend Tai said holding his back pack over his head like a shield. "Look on the bright side though at least you didn't get any…"

Matt pulled out his guitar again to show the food stains all over the instrument. Matt's face was a mask of semi-controlled fury. "I'm pretty sure it was on purpose." He said answering Tai's unspoken question.

The two where currently sitting on one of the school's tour buses as it raced back to Odaiba. Their entire grade had a field-trip scheduled to the newly built Higuchi Observatory. Everyone was excited save for Matt who saw it as simply a waste of time. That quickly changed once they actually got there, everyone stared in awe at how massive the entire facility was. The moment the tour began Matt found himself mesmerized by all that he saw, models of planets, galaxies, holograms projecting stars, and all the blue prints for rockets and space shuttles laid out before his eyes. Before he knew it he'd wondered away from Sora and Tai and the rest of the group to explore on his own.

By the time he realized he was by himself he immediately thought about turning back to find him but decided against the idea liking the quiet time he had. Eventually he did meet back up with everyone at the huge telescope they'd been talking about earlier. He'd arrived right in the middle of the lecture given by one of the astrologist.

"Did I miss anything important?" he whispered to Sora who was busy laughing alongside Tai.

"Oh!" Sora nearly jumped, surprised at seeing him. "N-Nope, nothing too important I think."

Matt simply nodded his head not saying a word. The first thing he saw when he entered the gigantic room was Tai and Sora laughing and chatting. He should have felt angry at seeing this but he couldn't, instead he felt happy seeing his two closest friends smiling. He figured they were probably together when he'd gone off on his own. Through one way or another all kinds of couples had formed to watch the stars shoot across the "sky".

The rest of the field trip went by like clockwork save for one thing, everyone was still full of energy. That was how the three hour bus ride back home became hell for everyone. Everything was being thrown from food, trash, and words. All Matt wanted on the ride home was peace and quiet, instead he found he and Tai ended up with the worse seats; right in the middle of everyone's cross fire.

"How much longer till we're back home?" Matt growled trying to wipe all the stains off his guitar.

Tai looked at his watch. "I'd say about twenty-five minutes or less."

A second later a bottle or fruit juice splashed all over Matt and his guitar. Finally reaching his limit he stood up and turned to face the unruly mess. "Hey!"

He was met with a chorus of denials and pointed fingers and a few snickers. The bearer of the Crest of Friendship glared at one boy in particular; a tan-colored with brown eyes just dripping with venomous joy.

"Kinoshita." Matt growled getting up from his seat until Tai stopped him.

"Save it for the concert." The brunette said. "Don't give him what he wants."

Deciding to take his best friend's advice Matt sat down but not before casting a deadly glare at the peach haired boy.

"Sorry about the guitar." Tai said offering him some towels to wipe the stains off.

"Don't be it's just….does this one look good enough?" Matt asked showing Tai his black, red and peach colored guitar. "Too classic?"

"Uh I really don't exactly know what to say." Tai stated. "What's the big fuss anyway Matt? You've got at least two other guitars lying around your home."

"Yeah but I want to find the right one." Matt snared at his now stained instrument. "This one has been rolled out leaving me with three others. When I show up on stage I want to look as good as possible."

"So you're saying you want people paying more attention to the instrument than you? That's fine." He joked much to Matt's chagrin.

"I'm serious here Tai. I want to blow that cackling jerk out of the water." Matt said turning his head back. "You remember all my other guitars and I need you to tell me which one looks the best."

"Can't you have Sora or T.K. do this kind of thing?" Tai whined.

"Sora's too busy with tennis practice and T.K. has been running around like crazy with Davis and the others." Matt stated.

Tai groaned into his seat. He cared about Matt and wanted him to make a splash at the Rock N' Royal but in the past few weeks he'd been taking it a little overboard no thanks to a healthy number of other bands bugging him.

Now what was the Rock N' Royal? Well as it was simply called, the ultimate battle of the bands in pretty much all of Japan. Divisions were based on age range meaning teenagers would be going up against teenagers and big-time rockers against more big-time rockers. With his popularity growing Matt's band was one of the obvious contestants. The problem was the popularity of the Teenage Wolves had also drawn a fair number of rival bands eager to take them down. One such band was Penalty, its lead singer, the cackling jerk Kinoshita Fujino, who Matt was fighting the urge to hit as hard as he could.

_Well at least we don't' have some crazy digimon trying to conquer the world_. He thought putting his headphones back in.

Just as he closed his eyes he heard one of his classmates in the back shout something about monsters fighting on a beach in New York City.

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><p>"Ken are you sure you're feeling okay?" Wormmon asked for what was probably the seventh time that day.<p>

"For the last time Wormmon I'm fine." Ken said typing on his computer like there was no tomorrow.

Wormmon wasn't convinced. Ever since the news reports and calls they'd gotten from Willis Ken had been put on edge. Indeed everyone could tell the former Digimon Emperor was planning on tackling whatever new threat this was alone. It wasn't surprising, whenever it involved Control Spires Ken always felt it was his responsible to solve it. Wormmon realized that one day it was possible he was going to get himself killed so he resolved to always make sure he stayed by Ken's side.

Even when he pushed him away like he was doing now.

"Damn it!" Ken snarled banging his hand on his desk. "Nothing! Not one thing in the network or…" Ken nearly passed out in front of the computer giving Wormmon a near heart attack.

"Ken!" he said immediately rushing to his partner's side. "Ken! Ken!"

"Huh?" Ken slowly shook his head. In the corner of his eye he saw his digital clock reading thirty minutes past mid-night.

"You have to get some rest. You can figure out what's going on with everyone tomorrow but they're going to need you at your best." Wormmon stated dragging Ken's sleeping trucks before him.

Ken smiled lightly at his partner's devotion and didn't put up any argument. Once he was dressed out he all but collapsed on the bed with Wormmon curled up by his side.

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><p>He dreamt he was walking along the shoreline of a beach. The blue-haired genius had no idea how he got there, what he was doing there or even why he was walking, he only knew someone was waiting for him. The night air was chilly yet Ken didn't feel the need to wrap his arms around himself to stay warm. Eventually he came to a few rocks overlooking the water with one person sitting on top them, watching the waves rise and fall. As Ken got closer he could get a better look at the figure, it was his brother.<p>

"Sam…" Ken breathed breathlessly.

"Ah Ken." Sam said cheerfully waving to him. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

Still stunned Ken took a sit next to his brother and watched the waves go back and forth.

"How are you here?" Ken asked.

"I'm here because someone still hasn't paid for their sins." Sam said off offhandedly. "Someone's using your Control Spires again aren't they?"

Ken immediately went on guard at his brother's words. "H-How do you know about the Control Spires?"

"Oh ya' know, you can see a lot from the afterlife. Watch the people you care about live their lives…and screw up miserable." From out of nowhere he pulled a sparkling sea shell and held it to the moonlight. "Kind of like you little brother. Tell me, why did you build those damn things anyway?"

Ken felt his gut all but clench at the mention of his past. "I…it…it was a stupid mistake I never should have made."

Sam merely shrugged. "Still why'd you make 'em? For that matter how'd you make 'em? What'd you use? Did you have to pay anything for the materials?"

Ken was growing increasingly uncomfortable with his brother's probing. Oddly though he couldn't exactly remember much about the Control Spires' inner workings. It was strange, he knew locations and working details but whatever he tried to focus on how he made them or where he even came up with the idea his mind always came up a blank. For a while he'd thought that was a good thing but ever since New York he'd been wrapping his brain around them but still kept coming up with nothing.

"You have to admit though, they do look pretty cool." Sam off stated.

The moment the words left his mouth Ken looked up to see a Control Spire right in the middle of the ocean. It stood out in the darkness, almost overpowering the night with its sheer presence.

"How did…"

"They look just like the obelisk from ancient Egypt only they were built to worship one god…you Ken." Sam said still not looking at his younger brother.

"W-What did you say?" Ken asked shocked at the accusation. "They were built to give power to the black rings!"

"Were they? Or were they built as monuments to your ego?" Sam finally turned to face him. His eyes were suddenly cold, dark, and piercing. "Think about it little brother, they're the first thing your eyes will spot, tall dark, powerful, and eye-catching. They're just like how you always wanted to be."

"No, you're wrong." Ken retorted suddenly feeling sick.

"No, no Ken I mean it was pretty spectacular." Sam threw his arms out in a grand motion. "The All-powerful Digimon Emperor!" he chuckled lightly sending chills down Ken's spine. "It was nice act Ken and you played the part better than anyone else ever could have. You crowned yourself emperor of the Digital World without knowing one thing about. Talk about hubris."

Slowly Ken felt himself itching further away from his brother. "How do you know about the Digital World? You've never been there."

Sam seemed to ignore his question in favor of returning his interest back to the sea shell. "You thought you were a king, a god with absolute power but you were defeated…by a bunch of kids!" Sam's laughter was even darker and colder than before. "Ken it was so amazing to watch. You know what they say, the bigger they are the harder you fall!" Behind his glasses Ken saw something flash through his eyes, something that made him want to run as far away as possible. "My mistake it wasn't just those brats, it was also your ignorance. Heh, ignorance and pride seem to go hand in hand don't they?"

Ken clenched his fist tightly. "Skip to the point already."

"You were ignorant of everyone around you, mom and dad, hell your own partner who stood by you. All you cared about was yourself." His voice suddenly dropped to a near whisper. "Still all you care about is yourself. It's really sad huh?"

Having enough Ken shot to his feet. "You're wrong! I know I've made mistakes but I'm trying to make up for them! I-huh?" Ken realized two things; one his brother was gone and the water had risen to just a little above his knees. "What the hell?"

At last Ken felt the water's coldness hit his body in full. It started at his legs nearly making him collapse then it hit his body. He wanted to move but found his legs were rooted to the spot. Looking out to the water Ken saw the Control Spire still stood except now there was a tidal wave brewing, strike that, barreling towards him yet he still could not move.

As he stood there frozen Ken couldn't help but think back to Sam's words; _I'm here because someone still hasn't paid for their sins. _Just before the black water washed over him Ken could have sworn he saw a cloaked figure watching from above the spire, laughing at his fear and doubt. The next thing he knew the cold black water slammed into him.

* * *

><p>"Davis slow down!" Jun yelled catching Davis who was about to trip down the stairs out of their apartment. "One of these days you're going to run head long into something harder than you!"<p>

Davis grunted half-ignoring his older sister's words. "I'll slow down once we get to school!"

Jun groaned at his younger brother's stubbornness almost wishing she had the power to calm him down. "I know you're in a hurry to stop, whatever those things in New York were but you can't do that if you go charging off in every direction. You could get yourself, DemiVeemon or someone else hurt!"

That was enough to cause Davis to slow his pace at least enough for Jun to catch up with him. Things had been different since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, after the battle Jun found Davis and gave him the biggest bear-hug she'd ever given him followed by his parents nearly squeezing the life out of him. Davis had mostly come clean about his activities as a DigiDestined leading to one long night of arguments and counter arguments between him and his parents. Surprisingly Jun joined in on his side of the argument when his parents were telling him he could no longer continue his duties. The goggle-wearing youth had chalked it up as due to two things; his sister had a new found respect for him and two she found DemiVeemon to be too irresistibly cute to kick.

"She's got a point Davis." His partner put in peeking out from Davis's bag. "You need to relax a little." He flashed him a smile. "With everyone working together I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

Finally Davis hung his head, taking in the warm spring air. "You're both right but I guess I'm just a little tired. I thought since Arm-"

"That huge spider-thing that you guys stopped a while ago?" Jun injected.

"Yeah that, I thought we'd at least get a little break but I guess not." Davis wasn't really as angry as he made everyone think. He just trusted his gut and lately his gut had been telling him he had to act fast before things got worse like they usually do. "Besides I should be thinking about how I'm gonna kick Kawata Jr. High's butt this Friday." He grinned.

DemiVeemon and Jun smiled at Davis's new soccer centered train of thought. Seeing serious Davis was interesting but seeing their soccer-obsessed and goofy Davis always brought a smile to their faces. Despite this Jun still couldn't wipe away the frown that had been on her face almost all morning.

Inside she knew it wasn't because her little brother was most likely going to be throwing himself in harm's way again, it was for something a lot more childish she knew. "So…Matt and the others are going to be…helping you search right?"

Davis shot his sister a sideways glance. "Yeah, why?"

"Oh nothing!" Jun said smiling sheepishly. "Just remember to say hi to him for me!"

Davis shook his head at his semi-obsessed sister. He thought she'd gotten over the blonde haired rocker but apparently he was wrong. "I thought you were into Joe's brother."

Jun hand-waved his statement off as a "mild infatuation" earning a snort from Davis. Once they arrived at the school Jun bid her brother off before heading off in her own direction of the school while Davis hurried to his friends likely waiting in the computer room.

"Hey guys! I'm…Ken?" Davis's eyes went slightly wide at the sight of his closest friend.

From a distance Ken might have looked normal but up close one could see the bags under his eyes and the red slightly around the edges. Davis's fellow DigiDestined all looked at their leader in naked concern.

"Guys stop it." Ken said suddenly. "I just had a little nightmare last night, nothing more." Despite his confident voice Davis knew there was a shaky edge to it.

"Care to define it?" T.K. asked.

Ken's mouth all but sealed itself shut. He couldn't possibly tell them the details could he? He knew they wouldn't hesitant to help him but this was a small voice kept yelling at him to keep quiet. One look from Yolei though and he almost thought about coming clean completely. "It was just a nightmare, nothing more. I promise you I'll be fine tomorrow morning."

No one believed him however not even Davis was willing to question him further, the blue-haired genius simply looked too miserable. Once he left Wormmon poked his head out of a bag.

"How bad is it?" Kari asked sadly.

Wormmon's eyes told them all they needed to know. "He woke up screaming, it took him a while to calm down but…" Wormmon's eyes grew darker. "I think it had something to do with water. He skipped his morning shower and nearly shrieked back when his mother offered him a glass of water."

"Water…" Kari's voice was nearly a whisper. _It couldn't possibly be the Dark Ocean…could it?_

Kari carried that thought with her through the rest of the day, not telling anyone. She didn't feel like speaking about it until Izzy brought them all together after school.

"They're have been five more Control Spires appearing all over the world." He stated pulling up images on the computer screen. "All of them have appeared in city harbors; Hong Kong, Rio, Los Angeles, Saint Petersburg, and even Sydney. All of them with digimon fighting around them, preferable dark marine-type digimon."

"Have they been fighting each other like they did in New York?" Tai asked watching two digimon brawl in in front of the Control Spire, completely ignoring the missiles and artillery shells being aimed at them.

Izzy nodded grimly. "Yes, it's always the same one side attempting to defend the Control Spire and the other side attempting to destroy it. Same types too."

The discussion continued for another hour with everyone having a different opinion on what to do. Some like Davis and Matt wanted to act immediately only to be countered by Joe and Cody that they didn't even know what to do. Naturally it was decided a trip to the Digital World was an order.

* * *

><p>"Damn it!" Davis slammed his fist into the railing angrily. "We've asked almost everyone we know and still nothing."<p>

"Just relax Davis." Yolei said rubbing her forward in annoyance. "We've been all over the coastal sector, there's nothing here."

"There has to be something!" Davis challenged. "Every digimon attack has been by a water type digimon so there's got to be something at the bottom of the sea!"

Yolei growled deeply jumping off of Aquilamon. "Cody's been searching for hours Davis! If there's anything else to be found, it isn't being found today! Right Ken? Ken?"

For the first time the two looked up see their friend was no longer among them on the platform. They both looked at Aquilamon and Exveemon.

"He wondered off a little while ago while we were searching the skies." Exveemon answered, there was something troubling about the way he spoke. "Davis he had this dazed look in his eyes."

After hearing this the two chosen children circled the oil rig finding said boy on the opposite end, staring down at the water. His posture was rigid and still as a statue, even when they called out to him. Without a word Ken took steps towards the railing, eventually hopping over the railing.

"KEN!" They both shouted running at full speed with their digimon behind them.

A green blur beat Exveemon and Aquilamon to the chase, grabbing Ken and flying him back up to the platform.

"Ken have you lost your mind?" Stingmon yelled. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?!"

To Stingmon's horror he saw the faraway look in his partner's eyes. It took a good shake from him (and Yolei screaming at him) to finally snap him out of it. He stared back at all of them confused. "What is it? Did you guys find something?"

"Find something?" Yolei's voice carried both anger and sadness that made Ken's heart wrench in pain. "Ken you jumped over the railing! If we weren't fast enough you know what would have happened!"

Ken's eyes widened in shock at her statement. Was he really a second away from committing suicide?

"What happened? Did you see something?" Davis asked.

"I-I think I did." Ken answered. "I saw something in the water, I couldn't tell what it was but I kept looking at it and I guess I just blacked out."

Five sets of eyes met each other, concern clear in all of them. Davis shook his head in frustration at the recent turn of events. "Let's call the others so we can call it a day." He wanted to keep searching but deep down he knew nothing more could be done. More important than that he knew keeping Ken around would only lead to more problems.

* * *

><p>"So Izzy has Matt been busy lately?" Jun asked off offhandedly staring out the window.<p>

Izzy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her question. Jun had "volunteered" to join him in guarding the computer lab. When she came back Izzy felt like turning her away but a combination of begging and unwillingness to continue arguing made him agree on the promise she didn't touch anything. To Izzy's hidden surprise Jun had been mostly subdued and more interested in questioning him about the Digital World and what it was like. When she finally ran out of questions she simply turned towards the window and remained silent. "Besides the Control Spires he's been worried about the Rock'N Royal, keeps saying he's trying to find the best guitar possible."

At the mention of a guitar Jun's eyes lit up like Christmas lights. Izzy watched her hand go to the large bag she'd brought in and kept close. He'd already theorized what was in the bag however he wisely decided not to reveal what he knew.

The two red-haired youths turned their attention to the computer screen as it light up with brilliant blue light. Jun stared in amazement while Izzy couldn't help but smirk a little at the girl's awe-struck face. His smirk died when he saw the exhausted looks on everyone's faces and the sullen look on Yolei's face.

"What happened?" Izzy asked the group.

Davis clenched his fist tightly and looked like he was ready to scream an answer but Cody beat him to it. "We couldn't find anything. We agreed we'd try again tomorrow."

Jun shot Davis a look that simply said "tell me later" and surprisingly Davis gave no counter glare or anything. Yolei stuck to Ken like glue and T.K. kept a close eye on Kari. Just as everyone was leaving Jun caught up to Matt.

"Whatever this is you guys can beat it right?" Jun asked hoping her voice didn't sound fearful or pleading.

Matt looked into the girl's eyes. He could see the small spark of fear swimming there, fear for her little brother and probably for him too. Naturally he put on the same confident smile he did for T.K. when they were younger. "Of course we can beat it. Jun we've faced a whole lot worse than some giant squids." Matt had to admit he liked seeing a smile return to Jun's face, when it wasn't the fan-girl crazed smile he found it enjoyable. "And don't worry about your little brother, me, Tai, and everyone will be keeping an eye on him."

"That's a relief." She sighed happily. "If someone wasn't watching out for him God knows what that idiot would get himself into."

"Comes with being the leader." Matt chuckled remembering Tai when they were younger and more hot-headed.

"Say um Matt," Jun started "I was wondering …"

Matt waited for her to finish but it never came. Instead she simply waved goodbye and was down the stairs faster than possible carrying such a large bag under her arm. Matt shook his head realizing there might still have been some of that fan-girl crazy in her. As he walked away he hoped whatever of it was left would be out grown.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own anything.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Permission?<p>

"Ken are you even listening to me?" Yolei asked in a clearly irritated tone.

"Ye-Yeah Yolei." He suddenly responded looking up from the ground.

"Then repeat to me everything I just told you." She crossed her arms clearly waiting for a response.

Ken's mouth went dry as he struggled to put some kind of excuse together however none could be formed. Bowing his head in shame he waited for the verbal assault he knew was coming. If he'd looked up he would have seen Yolei drop both her arms and the frown on her face, instead she gently grabbed his hand and continued leading him down the street.

"I'm being serious Ken." Her voice shook him from his stupor. "You looked like you were _ready _to die. Something is bothering you so please," she titled his head up so they were eye-level. "Please tell me what is going on with you?"

Again Ken wrestled with himself internally before submitting to Yolei's gaze. He came clean on everything from the nightmares to his new found fear of water. The glass-wearing girl looked less than pleased that he'd been keeping secrets from her for so long but she was glade he'd finally come clean with her. When they reached his apartment Yolei through Ken for another loop when she lightly kissed him on the cheek.

"Come tomorrow you're going to explain all this to everyone alright?" she said with eyes that made Ken feel like he was in paradise.

"When you look at me like that I can't help but agree." Ken joked.

"Good! Now Wormmon I want you to make sure he gets a good night's sleep and a shower too." Yolei said to the insect digimon.

"Aye ma'am." Wormmon answered curling around Ken's shoulder. "But about that part about the shower…"

Both youths shared a good laugh before Yolei and Poromon departed leaving a blushing Ken at the door.

* * *

><p>The girl couldn't stop the smile or tears that came to her eyes at the sight of the two DigiDestined sharing such a tender moment. Sure she felt rude for watching but two stronger emotions were wrestling within her. She admired Yolei's boldness in her relationship with Ken, setting things right before they went wrong and giving him a goodbye kiss. On the on other hand (which was hurting from her clenching it so much) she couldn't hold back the anger and jealously she felt watching the couple embrace.<p>

"**Hold it in." **A dark voice ordered from her pocket.

Reaching into her pocket the girl pulled out her blue cellphone, the screen glowing a crimson red color. "I'm doing that."

The dark chuckle made her blood boil but she held it in. **"Chiyo, Chiyo, how many times have I told you that you don't have to lie to me. If seeing them together bothers you so much just tell me I'll send someone to take care of them for you." **

"No." The girl, now known as Chiyo growled clenching the phone. "Ken's been having a miniature freak-out every time he's gotten near water so the plan is working but ya' know Daemon…you're practically dangling the prize right in front of Dagomon. Are you sure you want that?"

The dark chuckling changed into a deep-seated growl so fierce Chiyo could have sworn she felt his anger radiating through the phone. **"Leave him to me! You just focus on your own objectives. Soon we'll both have what we want, soon you'll have that annoying little idiot." **

"And you remember what I said right? If you scratch one hair on his head Daemon…" Chiyo let the threat hang in the air enjoying the silence. "What do you want me to do about Ken? Keep trailing him or focus on someone else?" Chiyo watched Yolei and Poromon head down the stairs, disappearing from view and watching them pass.

"**Stay on Ken but don't take your eyes off the others, especially those two with the crests of light and hope." **

If anyone had seen beneath Chiyo's hoodie that would have seen her eyes cloud over with hatred. "You mean Kari Kamiya right?"

"**Yes my dear Chiyo. Just wait a little longer and soon she'll be out of the way." **The sadistic playfulness had returned to Daemon's voice but Chiyo accepted it.

In her back pocket a small blue light began to shine before Chiyo clapped a hand over it. "So all I have to do is make Ken think he's being haunted and that'll be enough?"

"**Yes." **

Hearing her answer Chiyo slid the phone back into her pocket and reached for her back pack. She'd wait until night fall then she'd sneak in and sabotage the apartment's water. Until then she'd wonder the city, play games at the arcade, or go to the park. Anything but return to that _hellhole_.

* * *

><p>Chiyo never knew why but she liked Odaiba after dark. She could never figure out why but she always thought it had something to do with the way people seemed to just come alive when they were finally free to be themselves. Sometimes Chiyo thought if it weren't for this she wouldn't have made it this far. Walking the streets this late by herself on a school night got her many looks from the passing adults but she ignored them or shuffled along faster. She hated that look so much she could understand how Daemon was able to re-power himself through her.<p>

Her bright blue eyes peered from one building to the next to make sure she wasn't being followed or lead into some dark alley. It was laughable because even if she was corned she had something to ward off the attackers, something that would leave any man criminal a broken wreck. By the time she got down to the arcade it was closed so she decided to go to the park. Surprisingly on the way there she saw a maroon haired girl speeding through a shop door.

"_Th-That's Jun! What's she doing out this late?" _Chiyo thought watching the girl rush forward only to trip and fall, spilling the contents of her bag everywhere. "Hey! Are you okay?" Without a second thought she rushed forward to help.

Rubbing her head sheepishly Jun thanked the girl for her assistance. She couldn't see her face but Jun had the feeling she knew her from somewhere but she couldn't place where.

"Not to be rude but this is some pretty expensive stuff." Chiyo said putting all the supplies back in the bag. "But trust me it's worth every penny."

"Really?" Jun said her eyes lilting up like fireworks. "You play music?"

"No but I have some experience with guitars and instruments. If I had to guess I'd say you were building a guitar from scratch."

"I kind of am." Jun said smiling widely. "Hey, mind letting me get you some ice-cream as a thank you?"

Chiyo froze on the spot. This wasn't right, getting this close to Jun Motomiya. It could botch the whole plan! She had to leave before things got worse, before something happened. Yet just like with Ken and Yolei there was something about Jun's cherry demeanor that pulled her in. Maybe it had something to do with the fact she reminded her so much of Davis with that pleasant aura. "S-Sure."

They found a beach by the fountain and continued their discussion with Jun coming clean on her plan for the Rock' N Royal with Chiyo giving her pointers on what to do for the guitar. Chiyo was definitely impressed with the work Jun was able to do only from online instructions and pure gut feeling.

"What's your name by the way? You've helped me twice tonight and I don't even know your name."

"C-Chiyo." She timidly answered keeping her hood down. "A-And you're Jun Motomiya, the older sister of Davis Motomiya right?"

"Yep! Do you know my brother?"

"No but I've seen a few of his soccer games. He's pretty good."

"Wow, I finally meet someone who agrees with him so there must be some truth to all his bragging after all." Jun joked. "How many of his games have you been through?"

"All of them." Chiyo suddenly blurted out.

Jun whistled. "So my little brother already has a super fan already huh?"

The hoodie-wearing girl wanted to tell her not to tell David about her but she chose to focus her attention back on Jun's gift. "So…you're making this for Matt Ishida the rock star?"

Now Jun went quiet focusing on eating the rest of her ice-cream. "Yeah. I don't expect him to use it but I want him to have it, maybe as a good luck charm."

"Just between you and me I think he's got a good chance of winning. No disrespect to the other teams but I love his singing too." Chiyo admitted. At first Jun's face lit up only to be dimmed by a tinge of worry. Seeing this Chiyo couldn't hold back the laughter rising inside her. "Just for the record I think he's cute but I'm into someone else."

Internally Jun released a sigh of relief at avoiding another potential rival for the rocker's affections. However her own interests had also been peeved. "So who's the guy?" she asked excitedly.

Once again Chiyo froze at Jun's question. How do you tell a person you just met you've been stalking and crushing on their younger brother for two years? What did she do? Lie to her? Ask for her permission to date her brother? No she'd laugh right in Chiyo's face and the poor girl just wouldn't be able to take that.

Noting the hesitation as well as the downcast look in Chiyo's eyes Jun cursed herself. Just like before she'd stuck her noise in someone else's personal business. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to pry or make you feel uncomfortable or anything."

"N-No it's fine." Chiyo said eager to return to the peaceful mood the two girls were sharing just a second ago when her watch beeped.

Jun's face suddenly went white. "What time is it?"

Looking at her watch Chiyo answered her, "Almost ten o'clock." A moment later she connected the dots. "Take the next bus at the corner of the electronics shop, it'll take you right in front of your apartment."

Jun gave a quick thank you to Chiyo before she dashed off with her bangs. Watching the high-schooler leave Chiyo felt her heart sadden at the loss of company. She reminded her a lot of Davis; care-free and brave to a fault. That was when her small smile turned into a frown. Just like Yolei she had the courage to confront her crush while Chiyo could barely work up the nerve to talk to Davis.

She envied them greatly and that made her hatred towards one Kari Kamiya grow.

Checking her watch again she realized she still had some time left before every member of Ken's family went to sleep. "I wonder if the movies are still playing."

* * *

><p>The next morning in the Motomiya household was the same as usual; Jun and her mother scolding Davis for his insane eating habits and their father watching all of this with a boastful smile. The only stand-out event was the whole family questioning Jun on why she was out so late last night. What really came as a shocker was Davis actually admitted he was starting to get a little worried about her before he turned in the for the night with DemiVeemon. This was met with Jun giving her younger brother and his partner a bear-hug that had them regretting saying anything.<p>

"You weren't out with a boy were?" Their father questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Oh please Dad, Jun with a boy whose name isn't Matt? Ain't happening." Davis laughed earning a scowl from his sister.

"Say what you want Davis but at least I can say I've got dating experience compared to yours. Besides," Jun's grin was wide and proud. "I can say I've got a better chance with Matt than you do with Kari!"

As expected Davis shut-up but when he did Jun noticed something _different _about him. He wasn't pouting as much as usual when his odds of ending up with Kari were brought up. In fact from what Jun had observed her brother was seemingly becoming less infatuated with the bearer of the Crest of Light.

A cough interrupted Jun's thought process. Their father was apparently still waiting for an answer. "Jun."

"No dad." Jun finally sighed. "Besides if I was I would have called here first so you could threaten him with a trip to the hospital."

There was something of a tradition in the Motomiya household, well it was for Jun. Every boyfriend she brought home had to be given permission from their father to date her, their mother was far more merciful while Davis was just flat out indifferent. Jun often wondered what it would be like for Matt to be brought before her father asking for permission. As she continued eating her breakfast she pictured it in her mind.

"_Hello Mr. Motomiya. I'm Matt Ishida and I-" Matt never got past the that as the man pointed at the seat right across from him with a death glare that made him shiver in fear. _

"_I know exactly who you are kid." His voice was cold and threatening. "From what my children have told me you seem like a pretty nice guy so I'll skip straight to the point." Perhaps to get his point across he began polishing his high-school baseball bat. "I don't care if you helped save the world three times, hurt my daughter and I will hurt you. If you cheat on her I will kill you. If you get her to dress up for some skimpy music video you air to the world I will kill you. If you take away her maidenhood-" _

"_DAD!" Jun called out. _

"_I will hunt you down and kill you. Am I clear?" _

"_Y-Yes sir." Matt said shaking in his seat. _

_The menacing glare was replaced by a smile. "Good! Then you have permission to date my daughter." _

"Jun? Honey are you feeling okay?" Her mother asked.

"Don't bother mom." Davis said finishing his breakfast. "Odds are she's dreaming of Prince Matt riding a white horse and carrying her off to the moon."

Jun grabbed her backpack and threw it at her brother with aiming that made their former baseball-playing father proud. The siblings traded insults with each other all the way on their walk to school until Jun remembered Chiyo.

"Hey Davis have you or any of your friends ever met this girl named Chiyo?" Jun asked suddenly.

"Chiyo? Can I get a description here?" Davis said completely forgetting their earlier argument.

"She looks like…she's got blue eyes and wears a black hoodie." Jun answered realizing how little Chiyo had revealed about herself. Throughout their whole conversation she never mentioned her last name, where she lived, or if she even knew Davis or his friends. _"And what was she doing out so late with no parents or older siblings around. On top of all that she kept hiding her face like she was afraid I was going to see something. _

"Nope." Davis said placing his hands behind his head. "Why?"

"Well she's been to all your games."

"Seriously? You aren't just telling me this to get back at me for this morning are you?"

Jun crossed her eyebrows in mild annoyance. "I'm serious Davis. She's who I ran into last night. I dropped some things and she helped me pick them up then we shared some ice-cream."

Jun's words had a deep impact on Davis leaving him in thought for the rest of the way. Someone had shown up for all his games? He'd had that devoted a fan? A _female _fan? Why hadn't he noticed before? Why was Jun grabbing a hold of his collar? Wait a minute! "Hey Jun let go!"

"If I did you'd be a pancake genius!" Jun yelled pointing at the crossing car in front of him. "Honestly David you need to stop with the soccer fantasies because someday they're going to get you hurt."

"How about I stop when you stop day-dreaming about Matt?"

"I day-dream too!" DemiVeemon said poking his head out from Davis's backpack. Jun squealed in amusement while Davis stuffed his partner back into his bag. Between his sister and his partner he wondered which one would drive him completely nuts first.

Walking into the classroom Davis felt a shiver run up his spine meaning something else had happened. The looks on his friend's faces confirmed it.

"Where's Ken?" he asked.

"Davis he'…he's taken the day off." T.K. answered their leader with a solemn look.

"Why?" Davis immediately said back. "Was he attacked? Are his parents alright?"

Yolei, who had been deathly quiet spoke up. "He called me this morning. Apparently someone messed with the plumping in his apartment, caused the water to act up all night well into the morning."

"Okay," Davis said slightly unnerved by the answer. "But I don't think that's enough to cause Ken to-"

"Davis the water was black." Yolei stated. "They said it was just food coloring but when Ken saw it he just…"

Yolei didn't need to say anything else for Davis to get the picture. "Where is he? I'll go make sure he's alright."

"Davis you can't." T.K. spoke up. "You can't cut school and besides Ken wouldn't want you to!"

"I don't care if I flunk the semester! If Ken's in danger I need to be there!" Davis shot back.

"We know!" Cody shouted breaking up Davis and T.K. before they started getting too loud. "Davis believe me, I understand what you're saying, and we all wish we could be there but you know what Ken would want. He'd want us here with the others focusing on the situation now."

Davis wanted to argue but deep down he knew Cody was right. Ken was stronger than he was giving him credit for and he had Wormmon with him so he'd be alright. "Fine."

"Besides Davis there was another attack, this time in Kyushu." Cody sadly stated shocking everyone. "Some of the DigiDestined down there were able to contain it but it was a tough battle."

Davis slammed his fist into his desk earning a look from everyone in the classroom. Kari stepped in and clasped her hand over Davis's. "Relax, we keep searching for clues this afternoon but for now you've got to keep it together Davis."

The second leader of the DigiDestined grumbled but none the less took her advice and his seat. Sometimes he hated it when his friends were right.

* * *

><p>It was in the middle of Math Class that Davis first met her. He was snoring rather loudly while their teacher kept glaring at his sleeping head half hoping it would be enough to wake him up. When he had enough he slammed a textbook on top of his desk.<p>

"Thirty-one!" he yelled jolting up.

"Well Mr. Motomiya thank you for answering the first question now care to answer the second?"

It took a moment for Davis to look around his surroundings before he realized he was going to look like an idiot in front of the class again. _"Man I'm screwed." _

That's when a miracle happened. A girl just sitting right by the window, out of the teacher's view mouthed the answer to him. It took a moment but Davis figured it out and spoke the answer shocking the teacher and everyone else.

"Very well, you may sit down Mr. Motomiya but in the future try to avoid falling asleep. The future of your score career could depend on it."

He sat down, his brow still sweating bullets in a stark contrast to the grin on his face. Remembering the girl Davis turned his head to get a better look at her; her hair, black with a interlocking red strands reached a little past her shoulder, and her blue eyes locked with his before she spun her head back onto her paper. Even though Davis couldn't get a better look at her he had to admit she looked kind of cute. While he did put his focus back on his school work he couldn't help but keep stealing a look at her every now and then.

* * *

><p>Chiyo had probably broken a record. She'd gone from snarling fury to floating on cloud nine in less than three hours. First she'd seen Kari place her hand over Davis's and nearly broke down in anger then she saw him giving her a smile after giving him the answer. From that moment she knew he was watching her and that made Chiyo feel happier than she'd ever been in a long time. He'd noticed her. After two years of silence he'd finally noticed her.<p>

"Hey wait!" Davis's voice called from the classroom just as everyone was leaving. "You're name's Chiyo right?"

"Y-Yes! H-How do you know my name?" Chiyo knew where this was going. _"Please don't let this be a dream." _

"My sister ran into you last night. Said you helped her out and today you just saved my bacon in class." Davis flashed her a smile that made her heart feel like it was going to explode. "Thanks."

"N-No problem Davis." She answered praying this wasn't a dream. "Um I um…here you go." In her hands was a black notebook with the word math written in black marker. "I hear you're struggling in class so I'm hoping this will help you out."

Stunned Davis accepted the book, opening it to find it was filled with notes from beginning of the year all the way to their current subject. "Chiyo I can't take this. It's yours."

"No, no trust me I got my own for the year. Besides you need it more than I do so you can pass the class. Bye!" Chiyo spun on her heels to leave when she felt Davis's had on her shoulder.

"Is it true what my sister said? That you've been at all my games?" He asked seriously.

Eyes fidgeting back and forth Chiyo wished she could just run to her next class before Davis could catch her. Sadly now that he was in front of her she'd could turn her back on him. "Yes I have."

That was when she felt her phone vibrate meaning _he _was calling. "I'm really sorry Davis but I have to go. Keep the notebook as long as you want."

With that she took off leaving Davis somewhat stunned. Behind him the second-generation of DigiDestined watched in an equally stunned state.

"Well there's something I thought I wouldn't live to see." T.K. said trying to wrap his mind around it.

Kari actually giggled at the scene. "Who knew Davis had a secret admirer?"

Cody's response was more subdued. "I was wondering when they would finally notice each other."

Everyone's heads snapped towards the shortest of their members. "You knew about her?"

Cody crossed his arms in mild annoyance at all of questioning him at once. "I've always noticed her at the soccer games. She watched everyone play but she always seemed to pay special attention to Davis."

"Come to think of it I've noticed her around school too though no one ever really talked to her but she seemed to always be near Davis."

"So Davis has a stalker?" T.K.'s smile was noticeable crooked. "Somehow that doesn't seem too hard to believe."

"And why might that be?" Davis challenged ready to defend the girl. He may not have known her that well but Davis was still willing to stand –up for her in light of her kindness.

"It's not anything guys." Kari said breaking the duo up. "We've wasted enough time here." To empathize her point Kari pointed at the clock.

They all only had a minute left to get to class!

* * *

><p>Chiyo was thankful the girl's bathroom was empty so she could take the call. "What do you want Daemon?"<p>

"**I think the question here is Chiyo what do you want?" **The demon lord fired back. **'Don't act so surprised, when I connect to this phone I can hear certain sound waves." **Daemon's evil laughter filled the bathroom making Chiyo feel ten times colder. **"Someone finally managed get their targeted mate to talk to them, from the bottom of my heart Chiyo congratulations!" **

If anyone else had been saying those words she would have been elated however since it was Daemon's voice all it did was make her sicken her stomach. More so she thought back to Davis's face, so full of joy and life, and the little fact he was a _DigiDestined _and she was on the phone with one of his worst enemies. _"I shouldn't be doing this. I should be throwing this phone away, find Davis and telling him everything!" _

"**Such a pity though that what you've done is only minuscule compared to that of the Kari Kamiya." **

The brunette's mood shifted immediately. "What?"

The red screen was replaced with a picture of Kari hugging Davis's arm with both of them wearing big smiles on their faces. Anger and jealously took hold of Chiyo again nearly making her smash the mirror before you.

"**My poor Chiyo it'll never be you in his arms. Yolei and Jun will get to be in the arms of their loved ones but not you. Not unless you do something about it." **Daemon's voice whispered quietly.

In her pocket Chiyo felt the Code Key glow brightly as Daemon's words sank in. _"I'll be…all by myself." _Thank God no one was around because than they'd have seen s lantern-like light radiating from Chiyo's pocket. "What do you want me to do?"

"**Sabotage the school's computers then remove any access to the Digital World the children have. They'll keep them busy while my Control Spires finish their work around Japan." **Daemon ordered downloading a virus into the phone. **"Oh and before I forget Chiyo have nice day at school." **

The phone turned itself leaving Chiyo alone in the Bathroom. The path to the computer room was out considering the teachers would catch her before she could get there. Looking around the room her eyes settled on an open air duct. It would get her there and at this time she knew the computer lab would be empty. She'd have to move fast.

* * *

><p>Jun was practically a nervous wreck by the time she got to the mall. <em>"I can't believe I'm doing this." <em>She thought over and over again with each step she took. Every fiber of her being kept saying this was wrong and stupid but she had to do this.

There they were sitting in the food court. Sora and were girls Jun had an immense respect for, not just because they saved the world multiple times but because they were so down to earth and kind to everyone. Sora especially was held in high esteem by her.

"_Now or never Jun." _Taking a deep breathe Jun made her way towards the female DigiDestined.

Mimi noticed her first. "Jun! Over here!"

All things considered lunch with Mimi and Sora was better than Jun ever thought it could be. They laughed and ate like they were old friends despite barely knowing each other. Mimi practically roped into conversation after one ended while Sora merely sat back speaking only when she wanted to. It was near the end of their meal when Jun felt comfortable enough to ask the question she'd spent days preparing.

"Sora…" Jun started only to lose her nerve.

"Jun," Sora started for her with a smile. "It's about Matt isn't it?"

Suddenly shame filled Jun's face causing her to look away. She thought she could do it but she couldn't. "Yes it is. I…you know I…I like him. I mean I like him for him, not because he's a rock star or a hero."

"I know. Once you get to know him you find out he really is a great guy." Sora remarked. "That's why he deserves someone who'll keep him grounded and treat him right."

Jun sadly nodded at the red-head's words wishing that person could be her.

"That's why you have to stop wasting time and go for him." Sora stated surprising her.

'Wh-What?" Jun nearly screamed. Her face was a mask of shock and awe at the clam expression Sora wore and the giggles coming from Mimi. "Bu-But what about the two of you…I thought, well everyone thinks…"

Sora took a deep breathe fully hoping she said it right. "I know what everyone thinks. Believe me I've gotten the evil eye from almost every girl that's fallen for Matt."

Jun shifted uncomfortably remembering she used to be one of those girls.

"After MaloMyotismon we dated on and off for a while." Sora started. Between them Mimi shifted nervously not wanting to relive the some-what sad events. "We tried, we did but after Armageddemon we decided to just be friends." Her face lit up bringing a smile to both girls' faces. "It worked, that's how it's been since and that's how both of us wanted it."

"Thank God that worked out." Mimi cracked. "Jun you should have seen them when they were on and off, we thought the sky was going to come crashing down."

"Hey it wasn't that bad Mimi." Sora said somewhat annoyed.

Mimi merely waved her hand asking her to continue.

"What I'm trying to say is I want Matt to be happy. A lot of girls have come after him but they were all the same." Sora's eyes locked with Jun's. "But you're different now right Jun?"

She nodded her head shyly. "I'd like to believe I am."

"Trust me you are." Mimi laughed showing her support.

"Jun…" Sora said catching her attention.

"Sora…I came here to ask for your permission in…dating Matt. I mean even now that I know you two aren't together I still think it's the right thing to do. You've known him longer than I have and been through a lot more with him. I wouldn't feel right if I just came and…"

Sora placed her hand on top of hers in a friendly manner. "I get it Jun. And that's how I know you honestly care about him. None of the other girls ever came to me, not even to pry information. You don't need it but for the record, you have my permission."

A wide small took up Jun's face and her heart leapt at the news. "Thank you! Thank so much Sora!" She exclaimed bowing her head in respect. "Um one more question, Mimi, Sora, whatever happens next, can we all be friends?"

"Of course!" Mimi shouted holding up her fruit juice. "Even if things don't work out that doesn't mean we all have to go our separate ways."

Jun continued chatting with the two until they all realized it was high-time for each of them to be on their ways. Before Sora could leave Mimi caught up to her. "I'd say we did a pretty good job playing match-maker eh?"

"I just hope I did the right thing." Sora sighed hoping things worked out. "I gotta say though Jun's really turned around since MaloMyotismon. Besides Matt's been noticing her too."

Mimi nodded her head in agreement then decided to drop her two cents in. "So Matt and Jun get together…followed by you and Tai!"

"Mimi!"

"It's not healthy keeping your feelings inside Sora." Mimi stated crossing her arms. "I don't know about the others but I know Tai played a part in both your decision and Matt's."

Sora physically tensed at Mimi's proclamation. It was true though, Tai was a common factor when she and Matt were talking. More specifically Sora always found she had the most fun when around both boys. "Even if…I did, it's-"

"Never too late." Mimi said enthusiastically. "You're the bearer of the Crest of Love so eventually love will find its way towards you!"

There was something in Mimi's voice that made Sora believe she wasn't just the target of her little speech. She made a mental note to pry _that _information from her in next few days.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own anything.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Washed Away<p>

Izzy stared in wide-eyed horror and surreal awe at the black and white screen on his computer. It wasn't possible. It couldn't have been possible. It simply couldn't have been what he thought it was.

Someone had hacked into both the school's computers and his own, cutting off all access to the Digital World.

He probably would have remained frozen in shock had he not heard the sound of thunder and rain pounding on his widow. Sitting himself down he began furiously working to get his computer back up and running.

* * *

><p><em>Earlier on… <em>

"Digiport open!" T.K. commanded pointing his Digivice at the computer screen. When nothing happened he tried again. Still nothing. "What the…"

The monitor froze for several seconds then it turned total blue with one line of white lettering.

"What in the…" Izzy started shocked at what he was seeing. "This can't be possible."

"Izzy what is it?" Cody asked looking concerned.

"The computer has a virus that's infected the Digiport. I…I'd have to stay here all night trying to fix it."

"What!?" was everyone's immediate response.

"Come one Izzy can't you fix it faster than that?" Davis demanded.

Taking a seat Izzy began furiously typing. To his shock he even some of the core programs were malfunctioning and odds were the entire computer would have to be given a major overhaul.

"Judging by your silence I'm sure that's a no." Gatomon remarked examining the desktop.

"Does anyone else find this a little strange?" Yolei questioned.

Kari nodded her head in agreement. "Yolei's right. I hate to say this but it looks like sabotage."

"But who could do this?" Davis asked turning to face her. "We're the only ones who know about the Digiport and Izzy's the only one who could pull something like this off."

A new sense of dread and failure weighed down on the DigiDestined once again as they realized they were one step behind their unknown enemy. It was both infuriating and humiliating. Davis angrily slammed his fist into a desk earning him a scowl from Izzy. Cody fell back into himself trying to formulate a new plan of action while Yolei, Kari, and T.K. all slumped in their chairs.

"So now what do we do?" Yolei asked her friends.

"We can try the computer at my home." Izzy stated sitting up. It'll take some time to get this one back up and working but the one I have at my home should be just fine."

Immediately everyone's faces lit up at the thought. Quickly making their way over to Izzy's house they were stunned to find the exact same problem.

* * *

><p>This brought Izzy back to his current situation. <em>"How the hell did this happen?"<em> The question ran through his mind like a broken record. _"Who could have done this and in so no less than a few hours." _

After everyone had left Izzy had practically locked himself inside his room trying to exterminate the virus. The only time he was dragged out of his room was when his parents came in telling him he hadn't eaten anything or gotten up in five hours. Somewhat reluctantly he did get up, eat dinner, shower, and then got right back to work. Everything else faded out of existence for Izzy, the rain pounding on his window and the lightning splitting the sky.

* * *

><p>"Kari," Tai said stopping his sister before she left to her room.<p>

"Wh-What is it Tai?" Kari said visibly shaking.

Rather than answer Tai stepped over and enveloped her in a warm hug. "Whatever's bothering you, you know you can tell me right?" Tai hadn't been blind to Kari's suppressed fear. In fact when he saw his sister after school he could see something was troubling her. For her sake he kept quiet until they got home however he also noticed Kari's anxiety seemed to worsen when it started raining. "Does it have anything to do with the Dark Ocean?"

Kari seemed like she was going to start hyperventilate but somehow she got it under control. "Yes it is. I've been having dreams and this bad feeling in my stomach. When I heard about what happened with Ken I just…" When they sat down together on the couch she couldn't look him in the eye. "I know all this stuff is connected but I don't understand how anything from the Dark Ocean could be appearing here." The truth was she didn't want anything from the Dark Ocean appearing anywhere near her or her friends.

"I wish I could give you an answer but I can't, not yet at least." Tai admitted. When the Kari and T.K. told him of the dark world he was faintly reminded of all the evil Digimon they'd fought over the years. Once or twice he wondered if it was some kind of breeding ground for evil. "What I can tell you is that you don't have to worry." He flashed her a smile that made Kari instantly feel better. "You've got me, T.K., Davis, and all the others watching you so don't act so gloomy. Even if something does happen we'll all be there for you."

Kari smiled and returned her brother's hug. "Thanks Tai, I kind of needed that."

"Hey that's what big brothers are for."

* * *

><p>She really believed Tai's speech to her would give her the strength ward off the nightmares, sadly Kari was wrong. She was back at the shoreline watching helpless as some kind of digital monster rose out of the water. It was the same figure, the "undersea master" she'd heard the not-Scubamon talking about.<p>

What was horrifying was it wasn't Kari it was focused on, it was another girl who lay helpless before the gigantic abomination. Immediately Kari broke into a sprint shouting at the top of her lungs. The digimon roared fiercely raising its tentacle arm high into the air then brought it down. Waves slammed Kari into the sand leaving her dazed and confused. When her eyes refocused there was violet colored lightning dancing in the sky. The aquatic digimon seemed to be screaming in anger at the sky, as if calling it out to strike him down.

From above the clouds a gigantic fireball sailed towards the beach, the mysterious digimon drawing in all the sea water and Kari to form some kind of shield. Kari couldn't scream or think straight, she was helpless against the tide, helpless to save the girl, and helpless to save herself.

"_Don't freight child. That is the destiny of light; to be swallowed by darkness." _

"_No!" Kari cried in her head. "That's not true!" _

"_Really? Then tell me where's your precious light now?" _

Kari woke up screaming so loud she was sure she had woken up everyone in their apartment building. Gatomon and Tai where on her in an instant with their parents practically breaking the door down not second later. Even as they tried coming her she couldn't keep that voice out of her head because it was familiar.

It was Daemon's. As for the sea monster…she didn't want to know but she had a feeling she was going to be finding out.

* * *

><p>"Make sure be careful on your back from school." Mrs. Motomiya called as her children left their apartment.<p>

"Well they're defiantly canceling soccer practice today." Davis muttered staring at all the puddles.

"_But not rehearsal for the Rock N' Royal." _Jun thought silently. "That goes for probably the entire week Davis." There was a mischievous smile on her face. "Maybe without soccer you can use it to go hang out with Chiyo."

For a full minute Davis's body went so still Jun thought she'd finally found the off-switch to her younger brother. Ever since their freak-meeting Davis had been unable to shake the brunette out of his mind even with all the problems popping up around him. At first he thought it was because he simply wanted to repay her almost like he did Kari but has time dragged he began placing more thought on her. "It'd be nice if I knew where she lived."

"Oh just ask around I'm sure someone knows her." Jun encouraged happily.

Davis, for once honestly thought about taking his sister's advice. Izzy was still working on getting the Digiport working, DigiDestined around the world were managing to destroy most of the Control Spires, and word was Ken was coming back. All in all there was simply little he could do besides wait. "I hate waiting." He grumbled.

"Hm, that might explain so, so many problems you tend to run into." Jun joked just as water splashed all over Davis.

"Yeah, yeah, but don't forget Jun you can be impatient too." Davis snarled kicking an empty can across the street. "If I run into Matt I can tell him about that-"

The old saying was try; practice makes perfect. As Davis had much practice dodging his sister's mad lunges, if he hadn't he would have ended up going to school with mud all over his clothes.

* * *

><p>Out of all the DigiDestined Matt had probably taken the recent events the best out of everyone. He didn't like it but he used the spare time for band practice, after all he needed it. Even if he was sharing a warehouse with at least half a dozen other bands they hand their own space giving him just enough room to relax. Well he wished he did.<p>

Weeks ago when he rented out a part of the warehouse for practice he found he would be sharing Warehouse Eight with two other bands. They'd go in rotations First there was Kinoshita's band; Penalty and then there was All Night Long, a heavy-metal band. By this point Matt had gotten used to practicing with his arch rivals within arm's reach.

Then the day came when it all fell apart .

They were right in the middle of rehearsal when Jun came through the door looking more flustered than Matt had ever seen her. She was carrying a large guitar-shaped bag that Matt couldn't help but smile at. Calling a five minute break he jumped down off stage tossing her a bottle of fruit juice on the way.

"First time at a band rehearsal?" He joked taking a seat next to her.

"Pretty much. Is it always this loud? Can't you get a private place or something?"

"Tried that but all the other places were booked. So what's in the bag?"

Jun's face was as red as a tomato and her heart was pounding nearly a mile a minute. The moment of truth had arrived. "It's for you. I heard you've been looking for a new guitar to show off at the concert so I…I made this for you!"

Thrusting the bag towards him Matt shakily took it in hand. _"Okay she made this herself, even if it sounds like cats screeching on a couch don't say anything." _He preempted himself. Opening the bag Matt found himself awe-struck at what he saw. The guitar was a master piece; colored blue, gray and white, all in a stylish mix. The wood and metal were smooth he knew from being shined over multiple times. Looking closer Matt could make out swirl patterns shaped like wolves. For lack of a better word, Matt was dumbfounded.

All around them some of the rockers had stopped playing to stare in amazement at the guitar. It didn't take an expert on instruments to realize it was a beautifully crafted work of art.

"So…do you like it? You don't have to use it, just keep it as a keepsake from me." The maroon haired girl stated getting up to leave.

"No, wait," Matt shouted grabbing Jun's arm before she could leave. "This is…it's amazing, the best guitar I've ever seen." Matt said with his eyes shining with delight. In a quick flash Matt had his arms wrapped around Jun sending her mind to the moon and beyond. When he let go of her he watched as she practically sashayed out the door.

"So new girlfriend huh?" one of his band mates asked with a shared grin.

Matt took a second look at the guitar before responding. "Not a girlfriend, but a friend."

Just as Matt hoped the guitar played as well as it looked. He was always comfortable when practicing music, away from all the monsters and pressure of saving the world. The more he played the more he lost himself in total bliss. How much time passed he wasn't sure, all he knew was that Jun had given him what he'd been looking for.

"Enjoying your new toy Yamato?" a cackling voice broke Matt form his dream state. "Mind letting me burrow it? See if your girlfriend's little toy is as good as it looks?"

The owner of that voice was a person Matt hated more than he did Kinoshita. Opening his eyes to the wild black hair and malicious brown eyes Matt groaned. Worse than an asshole was an asshole with a track record of drinking, smoking, and a possible trip to juvenile detention. Standing a few inches taller than Matt, with more muscle, and a much gruffer expression Matt refused to let any fear or doubt show.

"How about after you've stopped smoking and drinking Hachiro." Matt growled. "If not then can you let us get back to rehearsal?"

Hachiro's grin made Matt's blood boil with the way he was looking at him. Ever since they met the two had never even remotely been able to get along, he was rock and roll while Hachiro was borderline death metal. Hell, even Kinoshita only out up with the bastard because he had no choice sometimes.

"Always thinking you're better than the rest of us." Hachiro sneered.

"Maybe because we actually are." One of Matt's band mates offered earning a series of snide laughs and a smirk form Matt.

Sadly the comment didn't amuse Hachiro, his band mates, or the other bands in the room. A small crowd had now formed around the stage with various bands casting glares at each other. Matt desperately searched for a way to diffuse the situation but all he kept coming up with was the idea of wiping the sneers off of Hachiro and Kinoshita's faces.

He probably shouldn't have thrown more fuel on the fire but he couldn't resist. "Whatever man, at least I've got more, hotter, fans than you do."

With that the fuse was lit and the entire place erupted into a brawl. Matt lost track of what happened or who hit first, all he knew was that Hachiro had gave him a good right hook he gladly returned. Every time he stopped to up he saw someone was fighting someone else including his own band mates. He pushed them to the back of his mind to focus on prying Hachiro off him, from the smell on his breathe Matt knew he must have had a beer or two.

"_Showing up at rehearsal drunk, can you fall any lower Hachiro?" _Matt wondered in his head when he finally managed to kick older boy off him. Instead of backing off he grabbed a chair and came at Matt again. "Shit!" Desperately he searched for the nearest thing he could to fend off the attack. His hand felt something solid and that was all Matt needed to know before he swung said object.

As strange as it was Matt could have sworn he saw Hachiro glowing orange, in fact he felt something hot and bitter running up his spine. His thoughts began to turn to all the times Hachiro and Kinoshita had annoyed him or intentionally sabotaged him and his band.

"_Why not make them pay? Take care of them now and you'll never have to either about them or else for that matter trying to up-stage you." _

At first Matt considering doing that, just one hit on the head or knee that would leave both his rivals in casts for a few weeks. He was about to swing at Kinoshita's shoulder when he stumbled in front of Matt then he realized what he was about to do. With horror filled eyes he lowered his weapon, Kinoshita however didn't and came at him. Luckily he brought his make shift weapon back up just in time to parry the blow. A random fist came out of Matt's left and hit him before he could move out of the way. At first Matt wanted to bash the guy's head in however he forced the urge down.

"HEY!" a booming broke through the fighting.

Instantly everyone froze, dropping whatever it was that they were holding. Their heads snapped to the door to see the warehouse manager, a few police officers, and an absolutely horrified Jun. A sickly feeling began to fill Matt's gut. He knew what she was staring at and it was painful to turn his head. The object he'd used as a makeshift weapon was Jun's guitar, well looking at it now Matt had to admit it looked unrecognizable.

Her cries were like bullets to his heart.

"…If you didn't like it all you had to do was say!" she screamed turning on her heels and running out the door.

* * *

><p>How long she ran she wasn't sure, all she knew was she had to get as far away from Matt and rock bands as possible. She knew it was a stupid idea but she still went through with it. Now here she was paying the price. Stopping at the water she dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. <em>"Was what I was asking for really did much? Does he hate me that much?" <em>

If Jun had looked up from her hands she would have seen the sky was darkening and the waves were beginning to crash against the harbor with more force. She was angry, heart-broken, and confused. If anyone was around they would have seen an orange and green aura beginning to encase the crying girl. Suddenly a cold chill ran through Jun shocking her back to reality. She could feel there was something wrong in the air.

Not too far off Jun saw a black spire rise up out of the water casting a shadow over the entire harbor. It was as black as night with no scratches or visible designs like a traditional obelisk, it was both amazing and terrifying to gaze at. Jun felt like she was frozen in her gaze, if evil could take on a physically form or held some sort of monument she felt she was looking at it, there was no explanation, just a gut feeling that she knew was right.

Trembling, she stood up and started back towards the warehouses when she saw a trail of neon-like gas moving through the air. They were orange, green, and blue and Jun could see they were flowing in from the warehouse. An itch rose on Jun's shoulder then it became a tingling sensation like she was being given a medical shot. In shock she realized the same odd substance was being drained out of _her _body. Gasping in horror she examined herself to find orange and blue but only a little blue flowing out of her body. All the streams seemed to flow into the black obelisk which glowed with an eerie purple light.

Jun knew she had to find Matt who probably knew what was going on. She was about to move when the waves slammed into Jun like a freight train knocking her to the ground. Everything was out of focus when she opened her eyes. She was in the water and worse she could feel something was there with her. The maroon-haired girl had never been a good swimmer but at that moment she began swimming with all her might towards the shore.

"Jun!" a voice shouted over the now fierce waves pounding against the concrete. "Hang on I'm coming!"

Through the water Jun could see Matt and what she assumed was his partner digimon running towards the water. "Matt!" Seeing him brought new strength to her arms allowing her to fight against the waves.

Alas, Jun found it was in vain as a miniature earthquake began rocking the area. Turning towards the obelisk a large crack filled with red light appeared on its surface. A few seconds later two marine digimon came tumbling out of it locked in a fierce battle. Jun couldn't get a good look at them save for one looked like a sea serpent and the other looked like some kind of demonic, humanoid octopus. More seemed to flow out of the crack turning the seas into a violet mixing bowl with Jun struggling to stay afloat. One minute the world was all darkness and the next it was monstrous howling and flashes of blue.

Something cold and slimy wrapped itself around Jun's whole body earning the loudest scream she'd ever produced. Without warning she was lifted from the water into the air, terrified beyond all reasoning. For a minute she saw Matt standing on the shore, his eyes met hers in a frightened deadlock. She called out to him but doubted he'd heard her over the chaos. The tentacle pulled her back giving her a look at the monster, red eyes behind black mask that filled her with fear. Looking into those eyes Jun knew her life was over, this thing was going to kill her or eat her, whichever it preferred.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a missile slam into the monster's eye yet it still didn't release her. Instead she saw a shadow moving beyond the crack in the obelisk. A set of jaws clamped down on the squid monster's head and pulled it back. Jun kicked and screamed but to no avail. The last thing she saw was the red light before everything she knew went cold and dark like someone had splashed ice-cold water into her face.

"Jun! JUN!" Matt shouted watching the MarineDevimon drag her through the Digiport. "MetalGarurumon!"

The cybernetic wolf digimon had been watching the event unfold while fighting off the WaruSeadramon and MarineDevimon. He cursed himself for focusing more on them than Jun. Deploying both his wing thrusters he seemed to fly through the air towards the portal hoping he'd make it in time. Warning lights and a timer flashed through his cybernetic vision revealing one horrible truth; he wasn't going to make it. As if to hammer it home a MarineDevimon smacked it with its tentacle sending him back to the ground.

Growling in frustration MetalGarurumon readied all its armaments. "Grace Cross Freezer!" Every weapon in his arsenal was launched in a fierce display of blue and silver, first the ice beam slammed into two fighting WaruSeadramon and MarineDevimon then the missiles rained down freezing the entire lot. "Matt go, I'll keep you covered!"

The blond-haired rocker needed no advice, he simply moved as fast as he could over the ice. He slipped and fell numerous times yet he continued running towards the Control Spire. By the time he was within reach of the portal he heard the ice cracking and breaking. Just like a rag doll Matt was thrown into the air due to the evil marine digimon breaking free and resuming their struggle. Even helpless Matt kept his eyes on the portal until MetalGarurumon flew over then ordered him to fly through the crack. The metal wolf made no argument knowing they couldn't afford to win for back up. A WaruSeadramon caught sight of them, blasting lightning from its horn in rapid succession.

_SWOOSH! _

The horn, along with the entire head fell back into the water as bits of data. Matt could have sworn he was able to touch the portal when yet again he was interrupted, this time by a blast of red energy coming from the other end. Luckily MetalGarurumon saw the attack coming and was able to dodge it. "Matt there's something wrong here, look at the sky."

"Why? What more could be wrong besides a Control Spire…" His blue eyes widened at the sight of trails of light racing through the sky into the Control Spire. When his partner went silent Matt looked down to find he was giving off an orange aura that was being drawn into the Control Spire as well. _"Now what? I can't destroy that thing because Jun's inside but I can't let this thing keep doing whatever it's doing."_

_CRACK! _

A WaruSeadramon had managed to slip through the battle and wrap itself around the Control Spire. Any MarineDevimon that wasn't fighting tried desperately to remove it only to be met with more sea serpent resistance, even MetalGarurumon couldn't get through them all without risking harm to Matt. When the final crack came the Control Spire began to crumble into the sea, the portal disappearing only moments before it was nothing but rubble in the sea.

"NO!"

* * *

><p>As a person who listened to his gut one would say Davis was good at guessing, especially when certain things were involved. He'd been searching for Chiyo all over the city with T.K., Kari, and Yolei when Kari suddenly froze like a statue. Reading the look on her face he knew it had to have involved the Dark Ocean. Then all the DigiDestined felt a wave of malicious air roll blow through the city. Their digimon all popped out of their respective hiding places with dead serious expressions on their faces.<p>

Gatomon pointed them in the right direction and they all took off, meeting up with some of the others like Cody and Tai on the way there. Coming up on the pier they saw police had blocked off the entire area. Despite still being so far away from the water they could all see the Control Spire looming over the water.

"Everyone please stay back! Please stay back for your own-what!" a police officer screamed into a bull-horn as set wave of digimon rushed past him. "Call for reinforcements! Call for the military! Call anyone!"

MetalGreymon, Garudamon, Pegasusmon, Aquilamon, Stingmon, and Nefertimon flew over the darkened skies while Raidramon and Digmon followed closely behind them on the ground. They'd found a battle raging between a lone MetalGarurumon and a horde of evil MarineDevimon. Whole buildings were either frozen or destroyed as fallout. Many more fell with lightning, earthquakes, rockets, meteors, and laser beams tearing through them. What probably set off the biggest explosion was when Davis saw Jun's blood stained purse lying in the rubble.

"N-No way." Davis started transfixed on the bag. "S-She couldn't be…"

Raidramon followed his line of sight and froze as well. "Davis…"

"Davis get out of the way!" Ken called from above when he saw a WaruSeadramon lunge at the duo from above.

To everyone's surprise they saw Raidramon all but teleport out of the way with the speed of lightning then ram its horn directly into the virus digimon's eye. A current of electricity ran through the WaruSeadramon, frying it spot while Raidramon jumped back.

"You guys I have a plan," Davis started in an angry tone everyone noticed. "All of you lure them back into the water than me and Raidramon will handle the rest." His words were trembling with anger that made everyone just a little fearful of what he had in mind. From his place on Stingmon Davis's eyes locked with Ken's and he knew what his best friend was planning.

Ken grimace at the brutality of the plan but knew it would have to be done. Everyone did as they were told to, it took effort but eventually the last three WaruSeadramon and MarineDevimon fell back into the water. Raidramon stood on the shore, lightning arcing around its bound in unbelievable amounts. Overhead the clapping of thunder and flashing of lightning could be heard for miles on end.

"Ready Raidramon?" Davis asked.

"All set." The armored digimon answered back. When Davis nodded Raidramon released an ear-piercing howl. "Thunder Blast!"

Natural lightning from the skies split the skies, was absorbed by Raidramon then fired directly at the marine digimon. The attack lasted for three minutes at most but when it ended the water was boiling and there was no trace of the digimon left.

"A little extreme but nice work Davis." T.K. commented walking up beside him. "Davis? Hey Davis are you okay?"

The goggle head ignored T.K. and snapped his head at Matt who had silently walked towards the group holding something in his arms. MetalGarurumon was with him with a similar sullen expression on his face. The thunder had ended but the rain continued to fall soaking the children however none of them seemed to care.

"Matt, where's Jun?" Sora asked recognizing the book bag in his arm as the same one she'd worn the day before.

Davis held up his sister's purse shocking the others, there was a blood stain on it. "Matt, seriously where's my sister?"

An eternity seemed to have passed before Matt spoke. "Davis…I'm…I'm sorry." He clenched the bag tightly. "A Control Spire appeared Gabumon and I tried to get to it first but I was…different."

"What do you mean different?" Cody asked sensing he wasn't going to like the answer.

"You guys, a Digiport opened inside of the Control Spire." Matt answered shocking everyone. "It was like a crack in a stone or something. It's how the digimon got here and how," Matt paused knowing full well what was going to happen to Davis. "Davis, I'm so sorry, one digimon grabbed Jun and….it dragged her through the portal. I…couldn't save her!"

The bad feeling in Davis's gut exploded. He launched himself at Matt, yelling in fury. "What do you mean you couldn't save her? What was she even doing here in the first place!? She should have been back home!"

"She probably came back when she realized she forgot her purse." Matt theorized when he spotted the pale violet bag in Davis's hands.

T.K., Tai, and Ken had to hold Davis back albeit their exhaustion hampered all of them. A deathly silence descended over the group leaving only the sound of rain and waves pounding against the shore. Finally Davis stopped fighting and fell to the ground, punching it over and over in fury. The others and Veemon where around him instantly to comfort him.

Davis knew he should have acted faster. Now he was going to have to make up a story on where Jun was and hope she was okay. "I'm going to find you Jun. Just hang on and don't do anything stupid!" Davis begged staring into the ground in frustration.

* * *

><p>Jun was thankful for the fight or flight instinct she had as a human being when she felt the digimon's grip loosen. With whatever might was left in her body she managed to worm her way out of the digimon's tentacles however she was still underwater. She didn't know how much air she had left but whatever she had would have to be enough as she swam towards the surface. The sound of thrashing and wailing filled the waters behind her encouraging her to swim faster. Her legs and arms were burning and her eyesight was beginning to darken.<p>

"_I am not going to die like this! I'm way too young!" _

She thought of the faces of her family and friends, even Matt and his loathed but still handsome face. All of them were waiting for her on the surface, her life was waiting for her. Her head practically rocketed out of the water, her ears ringing so loud Jun thought they were going to explode. Black and white danced in her vision along with salt water she tried to wipe out of her eyes. Darting from right to left she looked for land, however far away it was she would swim it. Once her eyes found a line of trees in the distance she bolted through the water. Time seemed to speed up as one minute she was in the water and the next she was sprinting through the trees. The howls of the two digimon were still within audible range forcing Jun to go faster until she couldn't hear them anymore.

Her chest hurt like hell, her lungs were burning, her clothes were soaked, and she was shivering like a cat outside in a snowstorm. As soon as her adrenaline rush died down she was able to take in her surrounding; she was in some kind of forest. Things seemed normal until she realized everything, herself included were in black and white like a negative photograph. Huddling against a tree Jun let all her tears out.

"Can this day get any worse?" She whimpered.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own anything.

* * *

><p>Chapter Five: Struggle in the Forest<p>

"Can this day get any worse?" Jun whimpered. As soon as she said the words she half expected some snarling monster to burst from the bushes and maul her. For a moment she actually wondered if she'd fight back if something did. No such thing happened, all was deathly quiet. Having the time to herself she simply cried not caring if anything saw her.

Her mind drifted to Matt, both in anger and still in kindness. She'd forgotten her purse in her joy-induced daze and went back to get it, unsuspecting of the brutality she'd find. Almost everyone had something broken or was bleeding from some body part, more horrifying was everyone seemed to be wielding chairs and instruments like weapons. What broke her heart the most was seeing Matt using her guitar like a baseball bat, that wasn't what it was meant for, hell she wasn't even sure if he would even use it! A sob erupted from Jun's throat as she remembered seeing the instrument she'd spent three weeks crafting from scratch for her crush. Three weeks reduced to a bloodied, bruised, hunk of metal in less than an hour. She was so stunned by the sight she didn't even realize the police had practically swarmed around her and even then her eyes stayed solely on Matt who seemed like a deer caught in the headlights.

Seeing him in that position was just too much for her to handle and she fled, not caring she'd forgotten her purse again. When that thing had grabbed her in its tentacles she'd wished oh so dearly that she hadn't been so rash and rushed out. A bitter laugh erupted from her throat as she remembered telling Davis not to be so rash, now she felt like a hypocrite. It still amazed her though how her anger at the blond had changed into joy when he saw her arriving to rescue her, just like a prince on cybernetic wolf.

Maybe about a year ago she would have believed in such fairy tales. If life was a fairy tale she wouldn't be stranded in the middle of some godforsaken forest with a horde of monsters after her. Where was she anyway?

For the first time Jun surveyed her surrounding taking note of how eerie everything looked. The entire world looked like a negative photograph, black and white and maybe a little shade of gray here and there. Fog seemed cover the forest for as far as Jun could see. In some areas it was thick while in others it was light. The air was moistly and the grass felt a little wet like rain had come had passed through only a few days ago. Running her hand through the grass she didn't feel any insects crawling along nor did she hear the chirping of birds. Scratch that she couldn't hear anything, no animals, barely any wind to rustle the leaves, and not one monster.

That should have made her happy but it made her feel even more scared. _"This is the Digital World? No way, it doesn't look anything like what Davis, Veemon, or Izzy described." _This world seemed like one that held nothing but death and emptiness. Walking through the forest only confirmed her suspicions when she found no sign or life. She pressed her hands against the trees to find they felt cold and dead despite their normal appearance. Jun knew better than to call out hoping for an answer. For all she knew those two digimon were still around, or whichever one had survived that little battle in the river.

When she found a tree high she decided to climb up for a better view of the forest. Reaching the top Jun considered it a miracle when she saw what looked like a sea-side town in the far off distance. The problem was there were dozens upon dozens of those black obelisk between her and the town. Vile began rising in Jun's throat. She doubted any of the obelisks would have a portal back to her world, worse it meant more of those horrific digimon would be around. _"But where the hell are they?" _

Far to Jun's right she saw one of the obelisk collapse shaking the area like an earthquake. Even from probably miles away Jun could hear the roars of vicious creatures engaged in battle. Frantically she scrambled down the tree and took off running in the opposite

As soon as she started running Jun felt the forest come alive around her; the wind which had be non-exist before suddenly began to howl rustling the leaves and the trees once dead seemed to bend back and forth. Jun could feel the air rushing past her with every step she took yet the fear didn't reside, only grow deeper. Gaps in the trees became black abysses that nearly made her trip over herself. From some far off distance Jun smelled smoke meaning there was a fire going on somewhere within the forest. The idea of a fire going on somewhere didn't seem to terrify her as much as the idea of running into that tentacle digimon did. It may have been her imagination but she could swear she heard the battle was getting closer.

_CRUNCH! _

A pain-filled howl tore through the forest meaning one of the combatants had lost the battle. Jun remembered DemiVeemon telling her digimon were digital beings but they still had things like blood and organs. From the screaming those precious innards had most likely been crushed. A howl of triumph blasted Jun's ears nearly making her stumble in her mad dash. Catching herself she continued sprinting, unaware that if she had stopped she would have noticed the tree root that blocked her path. Her feet caught the root perfectly making her fall into the ground on her cheeks then roll off the hill she'd unknowingly been running on. Dirt, muddy leaves, and blades of grass flew into Jun's face while her already soaked clothing became stained from the earth. Jun tried to stop herself only to realize she was out of control.

_Splash! _

During the first few seconds Jun spent under the river's waters she flashed back to when she was trapped by those damned tentacles. The fear she felt re-entered her body along with renewed strength, in a matter of seconds she pushed herself out of the river then scrambled onto land. "I've had it today with water." She whispered placing her arms around herself.

_BOOM! _

Jumping into the bushes was the first thing Jun thought of doing. They were large enough to hide her completely and she could peep through them without being seen by anything that didn't look too closely. Four black shapes appeared moving down the water before stopping at the shore.

"Oh my God…" Jun whispered watching them emerge from the water. One by one the black shadows stepped onto the land forming what Jun could only describe as humanoid fish-men. Their bodies looked like jet-black ink was oozing out of their scaly skin, skin that was barely visible through the darkness that seemed to run off their bodies. Their fingers were webbed like some frogs and they had weird fins in place of ears on their heads. What was most terrifying were their eyes; wide, white, and contain gray irises with black dots. All of them stood at about six feet each with skinny builds that made Jun think they must have been built for speed rather than for muscle. They were like some kind of monster you'd see in an old horror movie expect they were very real and if Jun screamed they wouldn't hesitant to prove how vicious they could be.

"Damn that Daemon!" one of them screeched holding what looked like a burnt harm. "He had to start calling in the DeviDramon just to make our-"

"Yes we know already!" a second one barked silencing the first one. It growled low in its throat sounding like some kind of predator. "Between Daemon and Dagomon there isn't going to be a world left to rule. Damn them! Damn those accursed DigiDestined!"

They all seemed to nod in agreement at the creature's accusation. Jun was puzzled, what had her brother and his friends done to this things? He'd never told her anything about these strange creatures.

"What should we do now? Now that Daemon's gained more ground he's back even with Dagomon." One of them stated. "At this rate they'll discover our hideout and wipe us all out." There was fear in the creature's voice.

"For now we head back and stay the hell out of both their territories. Rumor is Daemon's planning something in the Human World so the best thing to do is wait and see." The leader growled out shaking its fist in anger.

The four fish-men moved on, not even taking a look around their surroundings much to Jun's relief. When they were out of sight she rolled out of the bushes, releasing the breathe she'd been holding in.

"That was way too close," Jun said curling into a ball. "And those things were way too hideous to be digimon." She yawned, realizing she'd finally reached the limit of whatever strength she had left. "I'd better find some place to hide." She said dragging herself through a series of bushes and overgrown tree roots. "This…should…work. I only…need a…few…minutes." She'd found a nice little hole between some of the tree roots where she could pull some leaves over herself. With any luck anything passing buy wouldn't notice her. Once Jun was sure she was well hidden her fatigue won out carrying her off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Jun was awoken from the infinite darkness of her dream to the dropping of rain on her skin. At first she thought it was just her imagination however soon the rain started coming down in full force. "Great, more stupid water." She grumbled rising from her little fox hole. "Worse than any camping trip I've ever been in."<p>

The maroon haired teen decided to follow the river to the town she saw yet she'd do it at a distance. Every once in a while she'd climb up a tree to get a look at the landscape. Notable there were more of the black obelisk edging closer to the sea. From what Jun theorized they were like territory markers, where they were she saw more devilish looking digimon flying around. The same multi-colored lights flowed into the obelisk from the sky in the exact same manner they did when she was on Earth. The further Jun walked the soggier she felt the ground become along with the feint smell of salt water reaching her noise, that's how she guessed she was going the right way.

She had just passed a giant tree when she felt the ground rumble like an earthquake was starting. Clinging to the tree Jun turned her head in all direction trying to discern where the newest horror was coming from. As it was called, woman's intuition kicked in prompting Jun to climb to the top of the giant tree. A tidal wave swept through the forest, even reaching the tree top. It wasn't as bad as she thought it was however the water did still reach her legs before reseeding.

"Death Crush!"

"Dark Blast!

"Twin Scissors!"

"Crimson Claw!"

Explosions rocketed across the sky like fireworks nearly making Jun fall out of the tree. "Oh shit!" she yelled realizing the rival factions had started battling again. Jumping down just in time Jun hit the ground running off. Screw the town, she needed to get some place safe!

Attack names and explosions nearly shattered Jun's ear drums. A mini-earthquake seemed to rock the forest every second or tear away a section of the forest. Jun ran, slid, and jumped over whatever stood in her way. She didn't care that she'd probably gone far off the path she'd planned out, odds are it was probably destroyed by now.

Something crashed into the ground behind her throwing into the air briefly before gravity brought her back down. Coughing into the dirt Jun turned her back to see a downed digimon, it black dragon with a large gaping hole in its chest. Bits of data were licking out of the wound like blood. A screeching cry from above kicked Jun back into her sprint leaving the wounded digimon behind to whatever got to it first.

Two beams of red light raced past her blowing a few trees apart right before he eyes. Spinning on her heel Jun ran to her left only to find more projectiles raining down on top of the rain. With hell raining down on top of her Jun briefly considered giving up and just letting one of the attacks put her out of her misery.

_What's the point of this? You know you can't survive this. You're not a hero like your brother or have anything worth living for. The man you loved has rejected you. Just accept death, it'll be over fast. _

Where that voice came from Jun had no idea but she delivered a fierce response, "Shut the hell up!" The very people the voice mentioned invaded Jun's mind, their smiling faces and laughter. She w_as _going to see them again! No matter what!

Once the darkness of the forest had frightened Jun however now she searched for it, some dark corner she could hide in. She spotted one she could dive for. She was about to move for it when one of those black dragons tore through it and a digimon Jun couldn't make out. It absorbed the data of the slain digimon before turning its red eyes on Jun. They were the same as those of the squid monster that had pulled Jun into this damn nightmare only more predatory. These were the eyes of a heartless, cruel animal.

Jun was rooted to the spot with those damn eyes glaring at her. The dragon roared at Jun before lunging at her with its claws.

The roar snapped Jun out of her fear-induced trace just in time to drop to the ground. Grabbing a rock Jun slammed it into the creature's claws earning a small growl of pain and annoyance.

She was probably double backing to where the battle was, that was good since she'd take anything over the evil looking dragon now chasing her down. Suddenly Jun dropped to one knee, grabbed another, large rock and heaved it directly at the dragon's head. Now the dragon was ticked off it raised its claws for another claw swipe when a fist shaped blast of green energy slammed into its right side.

"Pummel Whack!" A deep, manly voice yelled as another blast hit the dragon again.

Jun nearly jumped when she saw the new monster, it looked an ogre. It had flowing white hair, four tusk like teeth in a mouth already full of sharp teeth, scarred green skin (from what she made out),horns, wore a black loincloth, black bracers, was about six and three feet tall, and wielded a rather dangerous looking bone club.

"Betcha didn't see that coming did ya ugly?" It boosted in a proud voice.

The dragon lunged at the ogre with its jaws only to meet the bone club in a shatter crack. Raisin the club again the ogre continued beating the dragon until it delivered one final smack to the head that ended the dragon's digital life. It dissolved in a pile of data that was quickly absorbed by the ogre. It then turned its fierce eyes on Jun.

"Stay away from me! Please!" she cried backing up against a tree with both her arms covering her face.

"Hey! Hey! Relax!" It shouted lowering its club. "I'm not going to hurt ya', not unless you shape shift into some slimy black man- fish."

Slowly Jun lowered her arms to get a second look at the digimon. Indeed it had lowered its club and no longer looked like a blood-thirsty demon. "Fish-man? You mean you saw those things too?"

"Saw 'em? I've been hunting them! They've been causing all kinds of trouble in the Digital World! Earned one heck of a bounty and as the Digimon Hunter I refuse to let my prey slip away!" He boosted.

"Digital World…" Jun muttered relaxing her shoulders. "Are you…a…a digimon?"

'Yep." He stood proudly holding his bone club tightly. "My name's Orgemon, the Digimon Hunter!" Orgemon took a few steps closer before offering his hand to Jun. "I gotta say I wasn't expecting to run into a human here of all places. What's your name?"

Looking into his eyes Jun could see the club wielder meant no harm to her. That was a relief. 'J-Jun, Jun Motomiya." She took his hand, it was ruff but also a little softer than she expected.

A radiant blue light suddenly appeared between the two of them illuminating the darkness of the forest. The light felt warm and saintly on Jun's dirty skin, slowly it began to drift towards her. Holding out her palms Jun yelped in shock when a small blue device fell from the light into her palms. Orgemon's jaw was on the ground while he eyes darted back and forth between the device and Jun.

Holding the device closer Jun recognized it from the descriptions she'd gotten from Davis and the others. "Is this a Digi…"

"A Digivice!" Orgemon declared staring at Jun like she'd grown three heads. "Th-That means you're my, I'm your…we're partners!"

"Partners? Heh, just like Davis and…Veemon." Jun said before falling forward into Orgemon's arms. The strength she'd gained from her little nap had been all used up.

Orgemon caught his partner in his arm still looking dumb founded. "Ah hell this has been one hell of a day." He took one look at Jun before gently easing her into one of his arms. He knew a place where they could be safe, he just had to make sure they both made it there.

* * *

><p>Jun was beginning to grow tired of waking up with neck cramps due to sleeping in the wilderness. This time though it was slightly better due to the make-shift pillow her head lay on. At first everything was foggy but soon her vision cleared. She remembered being saved by Orgemon and being given her Digivice. Gingerly she sat up to see Orgemon sitting across from her, a fire crackling between them, examining her Digivice.<p>

"Hmm, first time I've ever seen one of this things up close and personal. If I hadn't see them those kids use them I wouldn't believe they were anything but paper weights."

"Do they come in red?" Jun quietly asked catching Orgemon's attention. "It doesn't look anything like Matt's. It's kind of like the one my brother."

Quietly Orgemon trudged over to her and dropped the small device back into her hands. "Word was all the younger DigiDestined got different Digivices then the last batch. Who was your brother?"

"Davis Motomiya." Jun answered sitting up. "With his mouth and hard-head I'm sure someone must have heard of him."

Orgemon put his head on his tilted head in deep thought. He glanced at Jun's hair then snapped his fingers. "Yeah I know him! The DigiDestined of Miracles and second leader of the DigiDestined!"

Jun dropped her head in slight laughter at the titles her brother had been given. "So all his boosting was for real this whole time."

"You're his older sister right? How come no's ever seen you before?" Orgemon asked offering her some berries he kept in a pouch on his waist.

The berries tasted amazing though that might have been because Jun hadn't had anything to eat in probably a day. "You see I was introduced to all this digimon stuff only about a year ago. It was around the time some freaky digimon called Malo-something tried to take over my world and your world. Before then I was totally clueless."

"MaloMyotismon huh?" Orgemon spoke the name with obvious disdain. "Yeah I know him, he nearly destroyed the entire Digital World and screwed with your world too! I busy relaxing when Joe and Mimi called to fill me in!"

"Joe and Mimi? You mean you know them?" Jun leaned forward over the fire.

"Yeah," Orgemon glanced at his arm with an expression Jun knew meant he was recalling some special memory. "They huh…their partners tracked me down and said they needed my help so I decided to repay my debt to them."

Jun had the feeling all wasn't as her new partner was telling her. There was a fondness in her voice that was only used when one spoke of friends. In the short time she'd come to know Orgemon she'd already guess he had a "tough guy" image he would try to maintain at any cost. In that regard she found he was like some people she knew in her life, both good and bad. "Thanks for the berries." She offered them back to Orgemon who shook his head.

"Keep them for later. You'll need them more than I will Jun." He said resting both his knuckles on his knees. "So how'd ya get here? I wasn't expecting to run into a human in this forsaken place."

Jun visible shook as the memories came back to her. She was scared to tell him but deep down she felt she could trust the brutish looking digimon. Was this what Davis and DemiVeemon talked about when they described the partnership between humans and digimon? Whatever it was she went with it and told Orgemon everything though she left out the part about her running away after what she thought was a rejection of feelings. Orgemon listened intently and when he was done he turned towards the ceiling of roots.

"So bad place bad timing huh? Hah! That seems to be the trademark of you DigiDestined doesn't it?"

"Beats me." Jun shrugged her shoulders. "I'm new to this whole DigiDestined thing. All I know is its scary and crazy. What about you Orgemon? This isn't the Digital World is it?"

"This place? Nope, way too gloomy even for a Virus's taste." Orgemon said confirming Jun's suspicion. "As for me I was hunting a flock of DeviDramon and those weird fish-men things when I stumbled onto a Control Spire in the Forest Sector."

"Control Spire?"

"Those big black towers you keep seeing everywhere. I thought with the Digimon Emperor gone we'd seen the last of those damn things! Anyway I wasn't about to let my prey get away so I chased them through a crack I saw in the Control Spire and I've been here ever since."

Jun tucked her knees in when she asked her next question. "So what is this place?"

"Well according to rumors it's called the Dark Ocean." Orgemon spoke the voice with an edge of caution. He may have been the Digimon Hunter but there were things even he feared, this black and white hell being one of them. "No one knows that much about it but most doubt it exist and those that do rarely speak of it. It's hard to get to and said to be ruled by some super evil digimon."

"Well it exists all right!" Jun laughed harshly. She began fiddling with her Digivice. "So I'm a DigiDestined, what does that mean?"

Orgemon grunted at her question, "It means you've been chosen to help stop a new threat to the Digital World just like your brother and his friends."

Jun did a double take. Her? Save an entire world? She could barely save herself! "You're joking right!"

"Hey I'm not thrilled about this either!" Orgemon fired back. "Damn it I didn't wake up expecting to be in Leomon's shoes!"

"Leomon?" Jun asked. "Who's that?"

Orgemon shifted uncomfortably in his spot on the floor with his fists clenching and unclenching. A pained look passed across the Virus digimon's face, "A stupid idiot that was too thick-headed to keep his head out of trouble! He died a while ago so it doesn't matter so don't ask about it!"

Jun stiffened at the tone of Orgemon's voice however she didn't shrink back which impressed Orgemon. "Well sorry for asking. Okay, so if we're supposed to save the Digital World it means there's a threat right? If so then who's the bad guy we gotta defeat?"

"I have an idea who, Daemon." Orgemon answered.

"And that would be?"

"Well I don't remember much but according to legend there were this seven super-powerful, super evil digimon that raised hell in the Digital World. They all were said to have ruled over some kind of sin, like pride and greed or something." Orgemon looked at the crackling fire with transfixed eyes. "Somehow they were all defeated and sealed up in some of the tightest prisons in the Digital World. A while ago though, somehow Daemon managed to bust out and raise hell again on your world and mine. Word was the DigiDestined managed to defeat him by sending him here." Orgemon grunted in slight fury. "And now we're supposed to clean up the mess. Damn it I'm a hunter not a janitor!"

Ignoring the look of Orgemon's wounded pride Jun continued staring at her Digivice with fear dancing in her eyes. The story Orgemon had described seemed similar to a story she'd heard before but couldn't quite place. It didn't matter for either way she had a feeling she would be meeting this Daemon in battle. She'd barely survived a bone-thin flying dragon, how was she supposed to fight some super evil monster? Once more fear infested her body causing her to curl up into herself with tears threatening to fall.

Across from her Orgemon had stopped her brooding to notice his partner's fear-stricken state. He reminded him of Mimi when she stated she'd grown tired of all the fighting they'd been force to do. Orgemon couldn't blame her for being scared, even he was a little scared. He was an above-average Virus Champion with brute strength and the ruthlessness of a demon but he knew he was way out of his league. In that regard he found Jun and he were alike. More than that he'd felt a bond with this girl just like what Gomomon and Palmon had talked about. The old Orgemon would have abandoned this girl and the destiny he'd been thrust upon immediately, that Orgemon was no longer in existence.

Grabbing his bone club he hoisted it over the fire. "Bring it on!" he said in a boastful voice. When Jun looked up to him he saw shock. Good, if he could turn that shock into hope they might stand a chance of getting out of this negative world. "Taking on a Demon Lord, it'd be the ultimate challenge for the Digimon Hunter! Taking Daemon down in combat and holding his rope up high to let the world now it was me, the great Orgemon who deleted one of the greatest threats to the Digital World!"

At first Jun was simply stunned then she broke out into laughter. She had to put her hand on her sides to keep from falling over. "You sound just like my little brother Orgemon!"

Before long both were laughing joyfully feeling safe and happy since they both stumbled into this warped world. Once their laughter died down Jun looked down at her Digivice with a renewed sense of hope. If Davis could do this whole saving the world stuff why couldn't she give it a shot?

Unknown to her Orgemon's ears perked up suddenly, his face widening in surprise. Quickly he doused the fire and covered Jun's mouth with his other hand. Reading the expression on his face Jun went silent. Both of their eyes turned towards the roots that made up the "ceiling". Something was above them.

Normally Jun would have been scared but she could sense Orgemon right across from her with his bone club ready. Slowly Orgemon removed his head from her mouth meaning whatever was above them had left. Unwinding herself Jun accidentally pressed a button on the side of her Digivice causing the screen to glow brightly turning it into a makeshift flash light.

"That's defiantly going to come in handy." Jun said turning the light off. "Listen when I climbed up a tree I saw a town by the sea side. I was hoping heading down there would give me some answers."

"The town huh? Alright then in a few hours we'll set out for it."

"You know where it is? I was on my way there when that dragon attacked then I got all turned around."

"Nope but I can climb up the trees to see how far we are and from there it'll be easy."

Determination filled their respective eyes. Tucking her Digivice into her pocket Jun laid her head back on the makeshift. Orgemon would keep watch just a little longer to make sure nothing else came in their direction before joining Jun. This wasn't how he was expecting to spend his day but what the hell. Sometimes you just had to roll with the punches.

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><p>Please review I'd like to hear any feedback you guys have on the story.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Jun has Adventure 02 Digivice.

I do not own anything.

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><p>Chapter Six: Downpour of Sorrow<p>

This time things were easier for Jun probably due to the fact she had a six foot one muscular brute walking beside her. Orgemon took the lead with his enhanced senses being able to alert them to danger and Jun sticking close behind him. The forest hadn't diminished in terms of creepiness or moisture. A light rain had begun falling once again only this time it wasn't so much as chilling to Jun as a constant reminder she was still in hostile territory. Through the once empty air she could now smell the smoke of fires burning as well as Orgemon's less than favorable odor.

"_Well he is an ogre after all." _Jun once thought after taking her first whiff of the green digimon's bodily scent.

Orgemon on the other hand was busy sniffing the air for any scent he could pick up, preferably that of food or gas like you'd find in a house or town. Even towns in the Digital World (no matter how or oddball they were) had the faintest of scents or smells. Like all things in this world there was nothing save for Jun's slight fruity scent. That was exactly how he planned on keeping his partner safe.

Soon the grass became incredibly soggy as the rain continued to increase in intensity. Jun and Orgemon stopped under a giant tree to take cover, preferable for Jun who feared she'd catch a cold being out in the rain for so long. Her fears were confirmed when she sneezed.

"Can't this thing project a map or something? It could turn into a flash light but it can't bring up some kind of mini-map or anything?" Jun bitterly asked staring at her Digivice.

"Even if it could I doubt it'd be of any use." Orgemon said staring at the rain. "The Dark Ocean is an uncharted area. Hell even the Digimon Sovereigns only know a little about it."

Jun wanted to ask who these sovereigns were but figured it could wait for another time. For once Jun took the time to examine herself. Her entire body was covered with mud, her jeans and shirt torn in several places, her jacket had long been lost leaving her in her thin orange t-shirt. The cold air started hitting her full force causing her to wrap her arms around herself.

_BLEEP! _

"Huh?" Reaching down Jun brought her Digivice to see four red dots were now blinking on the screen. Eyes widening in horror she saw Orgemon had a serious expression on his face. "Run!"

Throwing away his pride Orgemon took off with Jun just as something large came crashing through the trees. Orgemon knew it as a SkullSatamon. He grabbed Jun and hosted her onto his shoulder before picking up his pace. He didn't want to see whatever had downed an Ultimate level of that caliber. Jun kept one eye on her Digivice and the other on the aerial battle taking place. This time the devil digimon appeared to be losing badly with one dropping out of the sky after another. From the corner of her left she saw a blast of ice heading straight for them.

"Orgemon!"

Still holding Jun Orgemon spun on his left heel bringing his fist forward. "Pummel Whack!"

The green blast canceled out the ice blast in the process destroying a tree. Lowering her down Orgemon fired two more Pummel Whacks with both his fists. The attacks flew through darkness until Jun heard them collide with something. A moment later it sounded like ice was breaking apart. Not wasting time to ponder what they'd just defeated the two took off again, this time finding themselves running along a river. Jun glanced at the river seeing a shadow rapidly coming up upon them.

Just when the digimon jumped out of the water, both its claws snapping Orgemon fired a green blast into its face. Ebidramon growled in angry before lunging at the two. Orgemon brought his club down on top his head then kneed him right in the under belly. His senses perked up alerting him to the gang of Boogeymon that had surrounded them. Grabbing tight hold of the dramon-type Orgemon swung him into the air turning him into a shield for the Boogeymon's collective fire.

"Is there any way out of this?" Jun called over the rain.

"Hell if I know! Just keep running and don't slow down!"

That was much easier done for Orgemon who was built like a living tank as opposed to Jun who was nearly out of breath. A red shadow swiped past her and the next thing she knew the ground was growing further and further away. Seeing the shocked look on Orgemon's face confirmed Jun's fear. The Boogeymon continued flying her higher into the air until Jun could barely see the ground anymore. Bringing its face level with hers she had to fight the urge to scream.

"Ohhhhh," Boogeymon said in a childish yet extremely frightening voice. "So this is what a human looks like up close. You smell kind of funny but I gotta admit you're cute."

She thought about wiggling to get out of the vice grip he had on her ankle but seeing how high above they were she immediately scrapped the idea. Then he licked her face.

"Don't touch me you little freak!" With her other leg she managed to kick Boogeymon in the face.

"Gah! You little bitch!" Boogeymon's eyes began to glow bright red. "I'll teach you to mess with me!"

Exactly at the right time Jun brought her Digivice up flashing the light directly in Boogeymon's eyes. The red glow seemed to implode on Boogeymon's face making him drop Jun and cover his smoking eyes in pain. Now she was plummeting into the forest with no way of stopping herself.

"Orgemon!" Jun called into the forest while tucking herself into a ball. At the very least it would lessen some of the impact if she was lucky.

Just when she thought her body would splatter against the tree branches or ground Jun felt a strong set of muscles envelope her then the wind and rain rushing past her. She didn't need to open her eyes to know she was in Orgemon's arms.

"That was a close one huh?" He joked.

"I think we all this is over I'm going to take a nice long break from wilderness survival." Jun said catching her breath.

Orgemon's ears picked up a small humming sound that only grew in magnitude. At first he thought it was insect wings buzzing however soon he realized it was something more. Something worse. It was laughter.

"My, my, I never thought I'd see this Orgemon. You protecting a lowly human, becoming a slave to a human master! Hah! My how the digimon hunter has fallen."

Jun saw a bright flash of red followed by black then she was rolling across the ground again.

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><p>Mimi had come to hate the rain. Whatever you wore it ruined it, when it passed everything was all wet and slippery. Worst of all it always seemed to reflect whatever sadness was eating away at people hearts. In this case it seemed like the Digital World was experiencing a global rain storm. Everyone had called in saying it was raining or had rained while they were searching.<p>

Izzy had managed to get his home computer's Digiport fixed so they could go to the Digital World but they were on a time limit. They'd already used three and a half of the four hours Izzy could keep the gate open but they'd made them count. They'd searched every place they could think of, all the areas that used host Control Spires and anybody of water they could. In the end they kept coming up with nothing. Now here she, Sora, Joe, Tai, and Willis had retreated to Gennai's house. She'd stopped to take a break while Tai and Willis continued searching however they all knew deep down they weren't going to find anything. Sora had joined her by a window with a sad expression of her own.

"_Was all this my fault?" _Was the question they were both mentally pondering.

It was their talk that had pushed Jun into confronting Matt only for things to go so wrong. None of this was Matt's fault and no body blamed him, save for Davis though they all knew he'd get over it, however the guilt still lingered. Their cups of tea sat before both of them, half empty just like their hearts.

"I don't think I can ever remember a time it's rained this much in the Digital World." Sora said watching the rain fall from the sky. "Even with all the crazy weather it goes through."

Mimi merely nodded her head in agreement. It was a terrible feeling, having someone you care about missing and not having a way to get to them. She'd experience the same thing when she and Joe broke off form the group the first time. Not knowing where everyone was or if they were alright was torture. She could only imagine how Davis was feeling.

"Wherever Jun is I hope she's under some cover." Mimi whispered. "Do you think it rains in the Dark Ocean? What if she's sleeping in the cold? What if she's being attacked? Oh god Sora what if she's-"

Sora cut her off with a swift hug while she let some tears stain on her shoulder. Sora didn't blame Mimi's mind for wondering off to the worst case scenario, admittedly she was fighting off the same. "I'm sure she's fine. Mimi we both know Jun isn't the same girl she was nearly a year ago. She's stronger than that."

The sound of footsteps on the floor brought their attention to the door where they saw an utterly drenched Joe staying in the doorway. "I'm just here to rest for a little bit. I'll be out in a minute."

Sora could clearly see through Joe's statement. "Mimi look after Joe. Biyomon and I are going to go look with the others, after that we'll have to call it a day." Just before Sora left she saw Mimi run into one of the closets and pull out a few blankets she quickly threw over their sneezing blue haired friend. The level of concern in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Mimi stop please you don't have to do all this." Joe said trying to stop Mimi from practically suffocating him with the towel. "I'm fine, really…" Joe stopped when he realized Mimi's hands were trembling with fear. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her hoping that would ease her fears. "We'll try again tomorrow."

"I know Joe but what are we going to tell Davis's parents?" Mimi asked.

That was the problem Joe, Tai, and Matt had been trying to wrap their heads around. They'd gone over and over a million different excuses for why Jun wasn't going to be home. Some options had a better chance of working while others were ruled out immediately, specifically ones involving Matt or music. It took a fair bit of thinking but they were able to come up with a plan.

"We're going to say she's staying at your house for a school project."

That brought a small smile to Mimi's face. "How nice of you."

"Well we were going to say Sora's but given that whole Sora-Matt thing we thought you'd be a better fit, besides Sora said you two get along well."

"What about the next day?" Mimi waited for Joe to answer however nothing came out of his mouth.

Mimi pulled Joe closer to her putting them both in a very compromising position that strangely didn't mind. Even after searching through the rain he could still smell the fruity scent of her hair and body. She hadn't dyed her again either. Joe mentally smiled he always thought she looked nicer with her natural hair. Mimi could feel the warmth of Joe's body through his soaked clothing and deeply enjoyed the feel of his arms around her. Somewhere inside she felt sicken by herself, Jun was out there alone while she was here, in the arms of a persons she knew would protect her at all cost. It didn't seem fair.

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><p>Davis and DemiVeemon were taking their time home when they all returned to the Human World. It was raining there too.<p>

"Davis are you sure you don't want to borrow an umbrella?" Kari offered as the younger goggle head headed out.

When Davis looked at her Kari felt like she was looking at a totally different person. His eyes didn't hold the shine or excitement they normally did, even when they were facing a crisis there was at least a spark however now there was nothing. It was painful to watch just as it was to see something similar in DemiVeemon's eyes. Shaking their heads they headed out into the rain with only Davis's hoodie shielding his head from the rain and DemiVeemon taking his place inside his almost totally zipped bag.

Walking down the street Davis seemed almost dead to the world, only reacting when crossing the streets. It seemed cruel how he only remembered all of his sister's lectures when she was gone. "DemiVeemon you don't mind if I…take my time do you?"

Poking his head out of the bag the blue digimon softly replied, "Of course Davis. I really don't feel like going home yet either."

The second leader of the DigiDestined had a feint idea of where he was going when he stepped off his normal path from Izzy's house. He knew at least three alternate routes to take to get back to his apartment that would take him longer than usual. That would give him time to think if he didn't accidentally wonder into traffic or into anything harder than his head.

_"You need to be careful or one day you're going to run into something harder than your head!"_

"She wasn't supposed to have anything to do with any of this." Davis whispered ignoring the splash his shoes made in a growing puddle. "Why did she have to get mixed up in all this? And why now at the worst time possible?"

DemiVeemon remained silent to his partner's question. "I wish I knew Davis. Do you think all this was planned by someone? Someone smarter than Oikawa or MaloMyotismon?"

With one hand Davis gently rubbed DemiVeemon's head while his other hand curled into a tight fist. If someone had planned this then Davis would find them and introduce them to his fist. His mind boiled at the thought someone like Oikawa or MaloMyotismon pulling strings behind everyone's backs.

"Is it too much to ask for the bad guys to face us like men?" Davis quietly whispered.

"Maybe they just know we're going to hand them a major butt-kicking!" DemiVeemon once again piped in.

Davis laughed lightly then turned his head to a window. Posters for the Rock N' Royal were plastered everywhere with instruments on display in some windows with price reductions. New anger began boiling inside of Davis staring at the instruments and posters. It was because of these stupid things his sister was God knows where with no way of contacting them or being found. Lately he'd been feeling a similar rage against Matt.

Now he was walking past more signs and advertisements causing his anger to only grow in size. Inside he knew the Bearer of the Crest of Friendship wasn't to blame but he couldn't help but feel anger at him. It was his fault Jun had ran off. His fault she'd probably felt like shit. How'd all this even happen? Out of all of them wasn't he supposed to be one of the sensible ones who always kept his cool? How the hell did that translate into using his guitar as a baseball bat?

"_I should have punched him when I had the chance." _Davis thought bitterly.

Time seemed to fly by as one minute he was walking the street and the next he was standing before his apartment door. The door might as well have had "You Failed Loser" written on it for all the misery and regret Davis felt reaching for the handle. The door knob felt cold either from the rain water on Davis's hands or his own anxiety. Turning the knob felt like smashing his hand with a hammer with every sound it made then he pushed the door open.

"Davis! Do you have any idea how late it is? What happened to you? You're totally soaking wet!" He heard his mother call. "Stay right there I'm going to go get you a towel."

He heard his mother's footsteps but refused to turn towards the kitchen. Lying on the couch was his father who flashed him a smile. "We already got the call about Jun staying over at Mimi's. It may be spring but they're getting ready to grill you guys for the end of the year aren't they?"

Davis kept a controlled smile on his face as he nodded his face in agreement. A project, that's all he wished it was. Even as his mother began drying him off Davis still could only barely feel his body. All throughout the rest of the night he could a hole in himself no amount of laughter or food could fill. At dinner he always stole a glance at the empty chair his sister usually sat at. Normally they'd be arguing over who had a better day or trading wisecracks with each other. It was funny, he never really missed those moments until now.

He did his best to keep a straight face throughout dinner knowing his parents might catch anything out of the ordinary. It was almost scary how he managed to get through dinner, a shower, and lastly hit the bed. DemiVeemon quietly fell asleep however for Davis is was more difficult. He kept staring at the rain falling lightly against his window like any minute Jun was going to knock against it demanding to be let in.

"_I'm the leader of the DigiDestined, I've fought at least two evil psychos so why the hell couldn't I save my sister?" _Davis growled as he continued staring into the darkness. Holding his D-3 in his palm he prayed his sister was safe where ever she was.

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><p>"This wasn't part of the plan!" Chiyo all but roared into the phone.<p>

"What hell are you talking about girl? As I recall you said your little soon to be mate wasn't to be touched and I've kept my end of the bargain!" Daemon's voice shot back from the other end.

Standing under the trees right next to the apartment complex Chiyo was glade almost no one was outside. A lone girl standing in the middle of the rain screaming into her phone would look quite strange. Her clothing was partially drenched from running around in the rain and her backpack, once full of supplies was now light as a feather. Yet her face which had been sullen mask all day had now become twisted in a fierce snarl.

"You took Jun." Chiyo started glaring into the red screen. "She had nothing to do with this Daemon. Nothing!"

"It's not my fault the bitch was in the wrong place at the wrong time! It's her own damn fault. Besides I can't control that Dagomon's puppets thought she looked like a good snack." Daemon wished her could reach out and strangle the girl for her insolence however he was restricted to this stupid piece of metal.

"She's in the Dark Ocean somewhere. You know where don't you?" Chiyo dangerously spoke.

Daemon's voice was just as controlled as hers. "The moment I do find her I promise you I'll send her back to your pathetic world. With all the noise she makes she shouldn't be too hard to find."

"I'm going to the Dark Ocean."

"NO!" His voice boomed like thunder in the night rain. "I can find your little friend. I need you here, watching those Digi-brats. Don't you trust me enough to do that?"

"Gee Daemon, between the two of us which one is a demon bent unleashing hell on two worlds?" Chiyo hotly replied.

If she could have seen Daemon's face then she would have seen the sadistic grin through his collar. "Touché my dear. Answer me this; which one of us is the pathetic whore who constantly tried to end her own worthless life? The one hated by their own mother? The one who's always going to be playing second to everyone else?" His voice grew darker with delight. "The one who's probably going to die alone in some small shack while the one she loves goes on to mate with another girl, love her, start a family with her, and achieve his dream? Call me a demon but hey Chiyo, I've got an army, what have you got? I'll come back one day but you…we both now a place like this is exactly where you're going to be buried, a place people pass through every day and not pay it the slightest thought. A nothing."

She couldn't feel the rain on her clothes. She couldn't feel the cold night air passing through. She couldn't feel the phone trembling in her hand. All Chiyo could feel were her legs buckling before they hit the dirt and tears running down her cheeks alongside the rain drops. Her entire body seemed to shake not from the wind but from interior coldness spreading through her.

"Get up Chiyo." Daemon's cold voice sounded faint in her ears. "Get-up you worthless sack of flesh and bones!" From his end Daemon guessed she was still kneeling in the dirt. "Get up and get back to that pathetic excuse for a home, you need some rest for your next task. If you do you'll be one step closer to proving you're not the exact same as those homeless beggars you passed on the street."

It took time but eventually Daemon could hear the sound of shoes walking through the puddles forming in the concert. That was all he needed to hear then he hung up without a thought about Chiyo. The blue eyed girl walked slowly down the pathway, not caring if anyone saw her, lifeless and alone like a phantom in the rain.

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><p>"Jun run as fast as you can!" Orgemon cried struggling to break free of the death grip he was in.<p>

"Be silent worm!" The LadyDevimon commanded squeezing Orgemon's neck with more force. "Is that anyway to act in the presence of ladies?" The female Virus-type turned to Jun with her cold red eyes. "I don't believe we've met before my dear."

Jun shot a quick look at her Digivice seeing LadyDevimon's picture and information come up. Getting past her wasn't going to be easy especially with Orgemon pinned down. Outrunning her wasn't an option, there was no way in hell she could overpower her so that meant she would have to outsmart her. How the hell do you outsmart a scary satanic vampire though?

"Pretty shabby place you guys call home huh?" Jun started hoping her voice didn't sound too frightened. "Seriously? All black and white? You guys do know time has passed in the outside world right? This isn't the thirties or some old cartoon ya' know."

LadyDevimon's face seemed to screw up but she didn't release her hold on Orgemon. "You dislike the scenery? If I recall girl you intruded here so you have no right to complain."

Darting her eyes at Orgemon she shot him a silent message. "You know it's probably better this way. I bet you wouldn't look in any nicer in color anyway, what with the bat wings, grandma nails and hooker outfit. I don't think even the most desperate of guys would come near you. Maybe those freaky squid-men but that's still an if right?" Jun gave short hardy laugh enjoying the rage she saw building in LadyDevimon's face.

Dropping Orgemon the female she-devil lunged at Jun with her nails turning into a sharpened spear tip. Falling back Jun activated her Digivice's flashlight just when she was sure LadyDevimon was right in front of her. Shrieking in fury she knew saw Orgemon's club slam into her skull like baseball bat. Turning her head to attack she raised her claws only for Orgemon to grab her left hand in a vice grip then drive his fist directly into her gut. He followed the jab with an uppercut that seemed to lift LadyDevimon into the air before she recovered her wits.

"Evil Wing!" She screamed into the rain releasing hundreds of bats from her wings at the duo.

For Orgemon dodging the attack was easy enough but for Jun who was still trying to calm her heart down from having the she devil a mere inch away from her. She ran head first into a set of bushes that bats seemed to blast through pushing her into the trunk of a tree. Groan in pain she looked up to see her partner engaged in a deadly battle with LadyDevimon. It was clear he was losing as LadyDevimon was wearing a sadistic grin throughout the whole thing, parrying Orgemon's swings, clawing him across his body or blasting him with more of her damned bats.

Frantically Jun searched for anything she could use as a distraction so Orgemon could go on the offensive. Spying a tree broken tree branch by her side Jun grabbed it and ran full speed at the battling Digimon.

LadyDevimon's sadistic grin changed into a hateful sneer when she felt the human charging her from behind. "Foolish little girl!" She taunted spinning around and slashing the tree branch apart with her Black Wing attack. "I am a Digimon! What hope do you have against-Ah!"

Pulling as hard as he could on her pale white hair Orgemon hefted the Ultimate Digimon into the air then slammed her into the ground. Putting one hand on her neck he began pummeling LadyDevimon's face over and over again. "First rule of battle never turn your back on your opponent!"

Feeling her head cave in LadyDevimon swung her claws at Orgemon's face only for the Nightmare Soldier to jump back out of her reach. "Evil Wing!"

"Pummel Whack!"

The attacks collided causing an explosion that blinded LadyDevimon briefly enough for Orgemon to move in and deliver a good right hook to her face. In retaliation she swiftly kicked Orgemon in the lower abdomen. While Orgemon was slightly winded she brought her claws back then swung them in an upward arc wounding the Digimon Hunter.

"Now do you see what happens when a lowly foot soldier like you attempts to challenge a being of my caliber?" Her voice ringed in Orgemon's ears followed by another kick to the gut. "I am an Ultimate and you are a Champion! I am Fallen Angel and you are just a pathetic Nightmare Soldier!" A claws swipe to the cheek brought Orgemon to the ground with the evil Digimon standing over him. "You call yourself the Digimon Hunter, hubris. A real hunter never lets his prey get the better of them."

Instead of fear Orgemon's eyes held nothing but confidence and grim joy. "A good hunter also makes use of their surroundings."

Puzzled LadyDevimon didn't notice Jun was missing until she felt a large piece of wood slam into her skull with enough force to earn a cry of pain. "You little bitch!" Raising her claws again LadyDevimon brought them down only for Jun to revel another surprise.

"This ought to be an improvement over the stupid mask!" Hurling wet mud into her face made Jun's heart swell with pride.

Springing from the ground once more Orgemon drove his directly into his opponent's jawline sending her crashing through a tree trunk. "A good hunter never lets their prey escape their watch either!" Orgemon chuckled.

Howling in unholy fury the female Virus blasted one last wave of demonic bats at the duo with much more intensity but without better aim. Gripping his bone club in both hands Orgemon got in close meeting LadyDevimon eye-to-eye for the last time. "Bone Cudgel!"

This time LadyDevimon didn't get back up, her smashed in face dissolved into data followed by the rest of her body. Holding out one hand Orgemon felt the data flow into his body healing his wounds and giving him more energy than he had before. "And another one falls to the Digimon Hunter! What did I tell ya' Jun? We've got nothing to…Jun?"

The scent of blood hit Orgemon's noise before his eyes saw the red stream running down Jun's right arm. Said girl was lying on one knee with one hand clapped over the wound. Orgemon immediately rushed towards his partner berating himself for getting caught up in the heat of the moment.

"I-It's not bad right?" Jun asked. She was clearly shaken yet Orgemon could see she was handling the injury better than he expected. "I-I can still move my arm so that means it's not bad right?"

Examining the wound Orgemon let out a sigh of relief. "It's just a scratch. In about half an hour it'll be gone and your arm will be fine." Plucking some large leaves off the trees as well as pulling out some clothe from one of his pouches Orgemon bandaged the wound just as he always remembered Joe doing for. "I gotta say Jun that took some guts. Trash-talking a LadyDevimon, hitting her upside the head, then throwing mud in her eyes, one of the bravest things I'd ever saw!" Orgemon said with a grin.

Flexing her arm Jun began laughing despite her till wired nerves. "Hey if we're going to save the world don't you think I need to do some cool stunts like that?"

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><p>Please Rate and Review!<p> 


	7. Chapter 7: Getting to Know You Better

I do not own anything.

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><p>Chapter Seven: Getting to Know You Better<p>

How long they'd been walking neither Jun nor Orgemon could tell, all they knew was that their feet were beginning to hurt like hell. At some point Orgemon had managed to pick up a faint smell he knew was not natural. It was the scent of those black fish men. Using that as their guide they continued walking with the scent growing stronger every few kilometers they walked. Sadly just when the Orgemon had caught on strongly to it a rainstorm passed through forcing the duo to stop in their tracks to seek shelter.

This time finding cover from the rain was harder as trees bigger than thirty feet were hard to find. Most had been broken or blasted to pieces. While searching Jun spotted a few shards of some black metal lying on the grass. When she touched one she felt a cold shiver run up her spine then back up.

"This is a piece of a Control Spire isn't it?" She asked Orgemon examining the many shards around them.

Orgemon eyed the shards with careful eyes. His senses told him a battle had just taken place and while he hoped all the combatants had left he couldn't take that chance with Jun around. "Yeah which means there was a battle and there could be more Digimon around." He gripped his club tighter once his ears picked up a feint growling sound from about twenty yards out. "Get up into the trees, don't make a sound."

Dropping the shard the red-head scrambled up the nearest tree while Orgemon did the same. Truthfully she welcomed departure from the wet ground though the tree branches were exactly much better. The branches were thick enough to support her weight and since she barely moved they hopefully didn't make enough noise to alert whatever Orgemon had sensed. Not surprisingly it was another DeviDramon. Peering through the leaves Jun could see the dark dragon was breathing harder than usual. Putting the pieces together she realized it must have been one of the guards of the recently destroyed Control Spire.

Dropping to all fours the DeviDramon began sniffing the ground having picked up some scent. The rain that had hindered Orgemon was now helping to conceal their presence. Raising its head to howl Jun was surprised when instead of jumping she simply gripped the branch only a little tighter. Her heart didn't immediately spike up like it did countlessly times before. Was it courage or was it simply Jun had started getting to used to the constant threats that seemed to pop up with warning? At the moment it didn't really matter as Orgemon eliminated said threat in a brutal but quick way.

Springing from his hiding place Orgemon brought his club down on top of the DeviDramon while wrapping his other arm around its neck. The dragon barely had time to let out a howl of pain before Orgemon had both arms around its neck.

_SNAP! _

That one sound was more terrifying than anything else Jun had heard up until that point. That made her heart jump inside her chest and her eyes snap shut. There was nothing else around it, no sound of crashing waves, thunder booming in the sky, ferocious roars, and frantic yelling. No, just the sound of a digital bone being snapped like a twig. It was haunting.

Orgemon paused when he absorbed the fallen Digimon's data noting Jun hadn't come down yet. He didn't blame her for being scared now. Snapping a creature's neck was one of the most brutal ways of ending its existence, even for Digimon. He'd done it dozens of times but that was because it was a part of his character, for Jun it was probably one of the most barbaric things she'd ever seen.

Surprisingly when Jun came down she wasn't trembling as much as Orgemon thought she was. A familiar steely determination was burning in her eyes. While it did put Orgemon's nerves at ease he still couldn't shake the concern he felt for his partner. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Jun shook her head not breaking her gaze with her partner. "Thank you, if you hadn't though he probably would have spotted me or called down something else."

The two barely got five steps away from where they were when Orgemon's ears perked up once more. This time Jun could hear it too as it was too loud for anyone to miss. It was the sound of rushing water.

Jumping onto Orgemon's back Jun took a moment to look back into the darkness of the forest to see a literal tidal wave rushing towards them. It either crushed or uprooted all the trees within its path leaving nothing but only the tallest ones left. Jumping high above the tree lines Jun and Orgemon could see the small waterfall that had been north of them had suddenly grown in size and was now flooding the entire area. They could see shadows moving through the water, knocking down trees like bulldozers.

The feeling of the air rushing past Jun as Orgemon leaped up and down into the air was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It felt way better than when Boogeymon had dragged her by her ankle into the skies. Watching the forest disappear beneath the water was almost just as amazing. Even from at least twenty feet in the air Jun could faintly see dark shadows moving through the water. If she could barely make them out then she knew Orgemon could see them perfectly.

"Well we got stirred off course again but at least we're a little closer right?" Orgemon said turning Jun's direction to the coastal town.

Jun saw Orgemon was right, she could now see the town better. It was medium sized with a light tower on by the beach that of course gave off nothing but dark light. "I guess you're right. And look it looks like it's clear of Control Spires too."

Orgemon didn't want to say anything but that worried him. With Control Spires he had an idea what to expect. The closer they got to the beach the worse he felt. Still they had to keep going because there wasn't a better choice. Finally spotting a tree tall enough to hold them he nudged Jun to let her know they were planning on stopping.

"Nice choice." Jun said stretching her arms out while leaning back against the tree trunk.

"When you've been in the wilderness like I have you tend to learn how to spot resting places." Orgemon said taking a seat next to her on the larger branch beside her.

"Yeah Orgemon about that," Jun started rubbing her hands to together. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"Fire away."

Taking a deep breath Jun placed both hands on her crossed legs. "Why are you called the Digimon Hunter?"

Proud began creeping back into Orgemon's eyes at the question. "Well if you really want to know it's because I hunt Digimon."

"For their data?"

"That and for strong opponents. I don't really care who they are or where they're from…as long as they're strong that's all the reason I need to hunt them."

Jun was quiet as she considered Orgemon's reasoning. He sounded like some kind of battle-hungry martial artists from one of those old Kung-Fu movies. It wasn't like Jun thought that was wrong it was just to her the concept was so alien. She didn't believe in fighting unless you had to and she tried to avoid jumping into random battles. Orgemon apparently was the exact opposite. "I don't…hate you or think you're a monster or anything." Jun began quietly. From one look at Orgemon she knew he had to have had some kind of warrior mindset.

Orgemon's surprise was plainly evident causing Jun to chuckle a little. "It's part of my nature. I'm a Virus type Nightmare Soldier. If I don't fight and get stronger then I don't survive."

Jun bit her lip at those words recalling a similar doctrine called survival of the fittest. "That's awful."

Orgemon shrugged his shoulders as if he hadn't heard her. "Maybe for some people but it suits me just fine. It's how the Digital World's worked for a while well until the DigiDestined showed up."

"You don't have to answer this if you don't want to but uh what do you mean when you say you're a Virus type and a Nightmare Soldier. What does that mean?"

Jun noticed a change in Orgemon's posture this time. He looked out into the rain then back at his club and lastly at Jun. "Well Jun Digimon can be broken into five attributes; Data, Virus, Vaccine, Free, and Variable. The first three are the most common and go like rock, paper, scissors. Data beats Vaccine, Virus beats Data, and Vaccine beats Virus. Data and Vaccine Digimon are more cutesy looking and docile while we Virus Digimon are aggressive by nature."

"So all those Digimon we've been fighting are Virus attributes?" Jun said surprised by Orgemon's lecture like voice.

"Sort of, some of the Digimon like the Ebidramon aren't Virus attributes but generally yeah. Depending on the Attribute a digimon will be either be a softie or aggressive like me." His fist tightened then loosened on a tree branch he started gripping. "Virus attributes tend not to get along well with other digimon, even other Viruses."

"If they're all like those freaky vampires and dragons then I can see that." Jun said not realizing Orgemon was a Virus too until after she'd said it. "Ah! I'm sorry Orgemon! I spoke without thinking again! I didn't mean you! I'm sorry!" She bowed her head reprimanding herself for slipping back into her old habits.

"Hey, hey! Relax!" Orgemon said holding up his hands. "Like I said we Viruses are tough so words so words don't bother us."

"And the Nightmare Soldier part?"

"That's my type. There's dozens of different types of Digimon but Nightmare Soldiers are kind of hard to miss. We look exactly like what our type is; monsters and demons. LadyDevimon isn't a Nightmare Soldier, she's a Fallen Angel type Digimon."

Jun didn't ask any more questions instead choosing to lie back against the tree trunk. "I think we should stay here until some of the water recedes."

Orgemon nodded his head looking out to the flooded forest. "That's a good idea. My nose is picking up the scent of a whole lot of hungry Digimon lurking down there."

What scared Jun was she could feel the slight vibrations travel up the tree every time something bumped against the tree. That and the few times she looked at her Digivice to see at least three red dots traveling up stream…towards the coast line.

* * *

><p>Davis could still feel the hole in his heart when he woke up the next morning. His sister wasn't hogging the bathroom all to herself or nagging him at breakfast. Strange how he suddenly missed his sister's egging and even more so during the walk to school. The rain hadn't passed, the sky remained the same concrete color with only one or two breaks in the gray sheets. One minute it was rainy the next nothing but a light pass over.<p>

Davis hoped the rain passed before they found Jun, hell he'd hoped it would pass within the next few hours. Thanks to it soccer had been all but canceled until the weather cleared. _"My sister's been kidnapped and I can't play soccer, is there anything else that could go wrong?" _

Not a moment later Davis felt someone yank on his arm pulling him away from the street just as a car drove over a puddle splashing water everywhere. "Well that answers that question. Hey who are…" Davis's words died almost instantly in his mouth.

He couldn't quit see her face because it was hidden by the red hoodie but he could see her striking blue eyes. They caught onto his before snapping to the side away from him. "You weren't really paying attention so you didn't see the puddle or car."

"Yeah I guess I've just been off my game. Thanks Chiyo." Davis gave her a small smile.

Chiyo's cheeks burned red and suddenly the rain didn't seem to exist. Two thoughts conflicted inside of her; run and stay. The logical option was to run but her desire to talk to Davis, to get him to talk to her, override the logic.

"Y-You're welcome Davis…and thanks for re-remembering my name." she said quietly.

Davis's face became a mask of confusion at her statement. "What do you mean thanks for remembering your name? Why would I forget it?"

"N-Never mind." Chiyo saw the light turn red meaning she could walk. She got about four feet before Davis stopped her.

"H-Hey wait a minute. We're both going to the same school so how about we walk together?" He asked with a kind smile.

After a moment of consideration she nodded her head. On any other day her heart may have leapt for joy at the chance of getting to walk with her crush however on this day all it did was make her even sadder. Chiyo knew Jun and Davis always walked together to school. With her gone Davis had no one to walk with. That left her, the nobody.

"_It's better than him walking with me out of pity." _She thought. _"It's the exact opposite of how I always pictured things going." _

Chiyo thought that's how the walk would be, surprisingly Davis started chatting with her. Whether it was to keep his mind off his sister or an honest attempt at getting to know her Chiyo didn't really care. What mattered was that the boy she'd been stalking for about two years had finally talked to her. Once or twice she thought she laughed or smiled at one of his jokes or stories. She managed to sneak a glance at his bag knowing DemiVeemon was hiding inside. She wished she could talk to him to, more so, cuddle him.

"How come I never see you around class?" Davis asked as they came up to the school.

"I-I don't like speaking or talking much. I prefer to keep to myself." She lied.

Davis felt something in his gut tell him that wasn't all there was but Chiyo didn't seem like the kind of person who'd suddenly talk about her entire life with him. That was fine with him. Just talking to her had made him feel much better than he'd woken up to in the morning. Once they were inside Davis shook himself off while Chiyo kept her hood on.

"Hey Chiyo do you do anything after school or do you have anything planned for today?" he asked suddenly.

Chiyo's body and mind froze. "…No, why?"

Davis rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I was wondering if I could, I don't know hang out with you this afternoon."

It all clicked inside of Chiyo's head. The rain had canceled all forms of outdoor activities and her virus would keep the Digiport closed for another day at the most leaving the second leader of the DigiDestined with nothing to do. It almost seemed cruel how such unfortunate events had given her a chance to spend time with her crush. Of course that didn't mean she wasn't going to enjoy her time with the goggle head. "S-Sure, I've got some free time."

For once Chiyo's thoughts weren't filled with jealously memories, instead she know looked forward to seeing Davis again. As long as Daemon didn't call her or Davis didn't discover her secret everything should go smoothly. Oh and if Davis didn't find her odd or too weird to be seen with. Out of all the things that could possibly go wrong that one seemed the most likely.

Oddly thinking of his outing with Chiyo kept Davis's spirits up. Everyone noticed it and quickly cornered him over it. When he told them he planned on spending the afternoon with Chiyo he got skeptical looks from Cody and T.K.

"What?" Davis asked suddenly feeling defensive. "What's the problem?"

Cody opened his mouth to speak but Yolei beat him to the question. She didn't want to ask the question but for Chiyo's sake she was going to ask it. "Davis you've never noticed Chiyo before, why are you spending time with her now?"

Davis could feel were this conversation was going and it made him slightly angry at his friends. "You think I'm doing this because of pity don't you?"

Yolei breathed in before looking Davis is the eye. Ken looked like he wanted to intervene however one look from the others told him not to. "Davis, if you are then stop right now. It's not fair to do that Chiyo, especially after she's spent two years waiting for you to notice her."

Suddenly Davis felt his temper boil at Yolei's accusation. From the looks on the others' faces he knew they were thinking the exact same things she was. "You really think I'd do that? Play with her feelings like that?" In the back of his head Davis knew he was probably causing a scene in the middle of the hallway. Regardless he didn't care about that. "The night before Jun…was kidnapped she ran into Chiyo, she helped her with that stupid guitar. They talked and Jun said she was a nice person, after she helped me out I realized I wanted to get to know her a little more alright."

Everyone's skeptical looks softened considerably at his words. Even Davis was surprised at the words coming out of his mouth.

"Besides I can't explain it but I just get the feeling she could use a friend right now, it never hurts to have friends right?"

"Davis…I never thought you could be this…thoughtful or…" Kari didn't exactly what to finish for fear it would damage his ego.

"Kari, I know I've been off since Jun's been kidnapped but I can't keep beating myself over that. Izzy can't open the Digiport, we can't get to the Digital World so there's nothing I can do. But I'm not going to sit around and do nothing." Davis said firmly moving towards his next class. "Besides guys when I talked to Chiyo this morning I just got this feeling like she can understand what I'm going through. I don't know how but I just do."

Watching Davis leave the group all took turns glancing around at each other. Ken spoke up first, "I honestly can't believe that's the same Davis that's my best friend."

Cody and Yolei nodded in agreement. T.K. and Kari watched him leave with something akin to admiration in their eyes. "At least he's not letting himself get so down like we usually do." T.K. smiled. "By the way guys, does what Davis just described sound kind of like a date?"

"Pretty much." Patamon whispered from inside of T.K.'s bag earning a small collective laugh from the group.

* * *

><p>When Davis met up with Chiyo at the school gate he was surprised to find she still had her hoodie on. "You know Chiyo I'm pretty sure the rain has stopped."<p>

Keeping her gaze on the ground she gently shook her head. "I-I prefer to keep it, you never know when it might start back up again." Seeing Davis nod his head Chiyo decided to jump to her next subject. "I-I was kind of thinking of going to the arcade, I like going there."

"Sure thing." Davis said leading her outside into the watery landscape.

On the way Davis and Chiyo chatted quietly with Davis asking most of the questions and Chiyo giving only feint replies. Every time they made eye contact Chiyo would look away to a puddle or window however as time went on she began doing it less and less. When they made it to the arcade Davis noticed a smile spread across her face. Going inside and playing the different games Davis saw her smile grow making him feel happier.

She seemed like a different person while playing the various games. Clearly she'd played them countless times before as evident by her holding high scores in several shooters and dance games. The only thing she couldn't quit beat him at was any game involving soccer.

"Well I guess your skills go off the field too huh?" Chiyo joked.

"There's a reason why I'm the school soccer star ya' know." Davis said pushing up his chest proudly.

Chiyo gave soft giggle that for some reason sent butterflies through Davis's stomach. "I don't think I can argue with that. When we faced Fujiyama Middle, Tanzaku Middle, Osaka Junior High, and Morimoto Academy you pretty much kicked everyone's asses."

Hearing Chiyo's words practically put Davis on cloud-nine and DemiVeemon (who was still hiding in his bag) gazed at his partner with a mixture of awe and a little skepticism. After coming back down to earth Davis smiled at Chiyo.

"You remember all those games huh?"

Her face was beginning to develop a red tint to it. "I was at them."

Davis wasn't quite sure how to react to hearing that statement. _"Cody was right." _While Davis was somewhat disturbed by the fact the brunette had been at all his games another part of him wondered why he hadn't noticed her before. Again, his sister's words came bouncing into his head, how sometimes he seemed so dead-set on Kari. Remembering his sister almost brought a frown to Davis's face but he forced it back. He couldn't do that or else Chiyo might think he was more freaked out then he was.

"_He's thinking about Jun." _Chiyo thought when she saw the slight change in Davis's face, the movement of his lips, the downcast of his eyes, and the furrowing of his brows. The happiness she'd been feeling just a moment ago was replaced with the fear and worry she felt for the older Motomiya. "Do you feel like getting something to eat?"

Davis's smile perked right back up. "Yeah sure! I know this great noodle place only a little ways off from here."

Chiyo was a little surprised at the enthusiasm Davis showed in guiding her to the noodle shop where he ordered them their food while starting up a chat with one of the chefs. From what Chiyo observed the two seemed to know each other with their friendly grins and laughter exchanged. Davis seemed to hold a particular interest in the noodles, the chef pointing to certain parts like he was giving instructions. Thinking back to how happy Davis was upon entering the restaurant and how he seemed to observe the chefs cooking in the back she cursed herself for not realizing it sooner.

"You like cooking noodles don't you?" She questioned when Davis came back with their food. The smile on his face confirmed her theory.

"Yeah, I've never really told anyone but one day I want to open up a noodle cart. One day I want people to say my noodles are the best in the world!"

Chiyo ate her noodles in somewhat of a stunned silence. Truthfully she'd always thought Davis would pursue an interest in soccer. Cooking wasn't a bad option either. "Do you know how to cook any of kinds of noodles?"

Davis's face became slightly crest fallen. "Well I've never cooked for anyone before."

"Not even for Kari or Ken?" Immediately Chiyo wished she'd kept her mouth shut.

Davis didn't seem off set by her statement. "No, I was always a little afraid of people spitting the food out." That was the honest truth. Having his friends try his noodles and finding them horrible would be a blow to his pride. Having Veemon or any of the other Digimon try them out always seemed to crop up but he went for it. "Ya' know you're the first person I've ever talked to this about."

"I-I don't see why. You've got a lot of friends around you so you must have talked to someone about it." Chiyo said focusing on her noodles.

"Nope." Davis said shaking his head. "Well there was this one time but I didn't tell them as much as I'm telling you know."

Just like earlier with Davis Chiyo felt butterflies perform an aerial show in her stomach. She'd gotten further along with Davis is just two and a half hours then she thought she would in years. More so hearing him confine in her some of his deepest thoughts made her feel special. More special than Kari. "Maybe one day you could let me taste them."

Davis nearly choked on his noodles at Chiyo's proposal however he quickly caught himself. "Y-You? Try my cooking? I've never cooked for anyone before?"

"Then I could be your first." The blue eyed girl answered with a blush encompassing her cheeks.

Davis would have smiled if he hadn't heard the faintest sounds of snickering and giggling coming from his bag. Using his eating as a cover he caste a glare at DemiVeemon who only smiled in return. Looking back to observe Chiyo eating her realized she was very pretty in his opinion. Her eyes were a kind of oceanic blue that complimented the deep brown color her hair was, about a shade darker than Kari's or Tai's but still quite impressive and reaching down to her shoulders. When he realized he'd been staring at her rather than eating her dove back into his noodles hoping Chiyo hadn't noticed him.

When they left the restaurant the rain had picked up again forcing the two to dawn their respective coverings. They stopped at the mall to look around, stopping in various department stories. Once again Davis was surprised when rather instead of clothing Chiyo showed more of an interest in books and technology. She reminded him of an odd mix of Izzy and Cody with the way she threw her mind into more academic pursuits. They had stopped by the fountain when Davis realized they'd been out for nearly four eyes.

"It's about time t start heading home huh?" Chiyo stated looking at one of the wall cloaks that hung nearby.

"Yeah, I can walk you home if you want." Davis offered.

At the thought of her home Chiyo nearly shot to her feet. "No! I-I mea-mean no Davis. You don't have to. Besides I live a little further away, by the time you dropped me off it'd be pitch lack and cold outside." She'd reined in her nerves now all she had to do was keep a hold on them. "There's a bus that takes me close to my home, I can take that and from there it's easy."

Her earlier outburst worried Davis for some reason. Still, she had a safe way home and clearly she wanted to make sure he got back home safely. Though he continued looking at her he couldn't help but think she didn't want him to see something. "What bus are you planning on taking?"

"The Five-B bus." It wasn't a total lie, maybe a slight exaggeration of the truth he hopeful wouldn't see past.

Contrary to Chiyo's hopes Davis's brow forward in a thinking position. He'd never much attention to the buses but now he was trying to remember all the lectures about them he'd gotten.

Sweat was beginning to collect on Chiyo's forehead. She had to distract him fast. "It'll be fine Davis. It runs right through the Oshiro Apartment complex, that's where I live. I'll be back home in about half an hour and I'll see at school tomorrow."

That did the trick. "Alright. My bus is coming in a few minutes so I'd better get going."

"I'll come with you."

Just before Davis got on the bus he turned towards Chiyo with the same smile she'd always admired. "Thanks for today, I've been feeling a little down lately and spending today with you, it's been a lot of fun."

Hiding her head underneath her hoodie Chiyo gave her reply, "You're welcome and thank you for today. Have a good night Davis."

Watching the bus leave Chiyo collapsed back into a bench. If she didn't know any better she'd sworn she was close to fainting. She'd just spent one whole afternoon with her crush and he'd had a good time with her. It was like a dream come true. The rain falling against her skin reminded her that it wasn't, it had really happened. He hadn't called her a freak or weird like all the others. He really was as nice and kind as she'd always thought. Her joy then turned into dread when she heard a familiar ringing coming from her phone. The time for laughter had come and gone, now it was back to her _job_.

Instead of a phone call a message had been sent to her phone, a supply list followed by an order of instructions. Chiyo looked back out at where the bus was not even a few minutes ago. She'd wished a bus would come and take her away from her life. Sadly if one such bus did exist Chiyo imagined she'd be thrown off it before the doors even closed behind her. While inside the mall she saw several items she knew at some point she'd be needing. Tools she'd be using to torture Ken even more and likely drive Davis and the others through the wall with rage.

She could almost hear Daemon's mocking voice; _"Waist until they find out about you. About what a pathetic little wretch you are. _

That was partly why Chiyo didn't want Davis knowing anything about her family life or seeing where she lived. Correction, where she _rested_ at nowadays. Grimacing she made her way back into the mall stories to gather the supplies. She'd have to stop back at her apartment to put everything together. If all went well then Chiyo would be able to get her work done in peace and quiet. If not…she didn't want to dwell on the other thought. Speaking of which hers drifted once more to Jun. Both the Motomiyas were kind to her, not out of pity but genuine kindness.

"I gotta find Jun." Chiyo whispered grabbing her bag full of food coloring. A small shock ran up her spine nearly making her drop her bag. It came from her back pocket. "It's not like it's going to slow the plan down." This time it was a wave of coldness that caked her body despite the heat being on in the mall.

* * *

><p>The water had finally begun receding thought still not enough for Jun and Orgemon to walk on the ground. Instead they had to jump from branch to branch or shimmy from branch to another. For Orgemon this wasn't an issue, for Jun it was becoming increasingly taxing and nerve wrecking. Every time she looked at the water she was sure she saw a shadowy figure moving through it, waiting for her to slip and fall in. Hearing Orgemon call out to her always seemed to chase those thoughts away though. The Virus Digimon stayed close enough to her so that if she slipped he could catch her.<p>

"I know it's going to seem stupid but what are those things?" Jun asked watching two shadows engage each other briefly underneath the waves.

"A while lot of nasty Digimon who'd love to have you for dinner." Orgemon answered. "I can smell them, Virus-infected Digimon."

"What do you mean Virus-infected?"

"Certain Digimon can infect others with a virus, it gives them a major boost in power but it also makes them go totally bat-shit."

"Well that must be painful." Jun started looking back at the shadows. Breaking the surface she saw two shrimp-like Digimon wrestling with each other. When one overpowered the other it crushed its neck with its pincers, turning its opponent into data then absorbing it. "It's like watching a predator kill its prey." When no reply came she noticed Orgemon was staring intently at the scene. "Orgemon…is something wrong?"

"_No use in hiding it. She's going to have to know eventually." _He thought motioning them to move forward. "A while back there was this evil Digimon, Devimon, who tried to destroy the DigiDestined on a place called File Island. He had this things with him called Black Gears. Once they got inside of a Digimon they got a boost in power in exchange for going psycho."

The maroon haired girl stopped climbing to glance at Orgemon who refused to meet her gaze. Already her mind was coming to a conclusion she admitted she wasn't exactly comfortable with. "You…"

"I…I accepted it willingly." Orgemon said with shame evident. "Devimon promised me power, the power the beat my rival Leomon. I took it." His face twisted into a snarl so deep it leave an imprint on the trees. "I got my power but it was all a set-up. Devimon used me like his puppet and when the final battle happened he _absorbed _me."

Vile began to form inside of Jun at Orgemon's words put a picture in her head. She'd seen Digimon absorb data but what Orgemon described sounded much worse.

His voice was trembling with one part anger and another part actually fear. "Being inside of him…I had no control over myself! I could only watch as he used me, used my attacks for himself!" Banging his hand against a branch so hard it broke off made Jun flinch. "I wanted power but not like that! What's worse I had no to blame but myself! I hated it so much! After Devimon was defeated I just felt…_violated_. I spent months wondering around in a daze asking how I'd let that happen to me! How I'd become someone else's prey!" His voice calmed down in level once he stopped to pause. "I…I didn't know what to do with myself. I felt weak and angry at everything. I attacked everyone who got close to me. I thought I'd spend the rest of my life like that until Joe and Mimi found me." A soft light shone the club's wielder's eyes. "I realized I wanted to be a better…I wanted to have friends after they healed me."

Orgemon looked up not sure what to see in Jun's eyes but what he saw surprised me. She seemed to be on the verge of tears yet she looked like she didn't want to cry in front of him. She sat against the trunk with both her knees tucked in. Orgemon sat beside her placing a attentive arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry Orgemon." She choked out. "I didn't mean to bring all that out of you."

"Hey," Orgemon said rubbing her shoulders. "It's fine. You were going to have to know eventually so better we got it out of the way now."

Jun sniffled looking at her reflection in the water. Hearing Orgemon tell him about her past made her remember her own less-then likable history. Reaching into her pocket her thoughts went to how Davis told her DigiDestined and their partner Digimon trust each other. Orgemon had come clean with her, she owed it to him. "Orgemon, I won't or ever hold your past against you, mostly because I can understand the whole want to be a better person thing."

When Orgemon raised an eyebrow Jun decided she would have to elaborate. "You don't have to tell me this ya' know."

She shook her head plucking a leaf from a branch then blowing it into the water. "Before I wasn't a very likable person. One of the previous DigiDestined, Matt, I had a crush on him. A big crush." Jun smiled a little sheepishly at herself. "I- I was head over heels so I sat out to be as close to him as possible. Basically I became a fan-girl."

Orgemon shuddered at the thought. Even in the Digital World fan-girls were widely feared and reviled.

"I liked him without even wanting to get to know him. I wasn't as close with my brother as I am now." Jun sighed. "I was inconsiderate of other people. It wasn't until after my brother put his life on the line to save the world did I realize I'd been underestimating him. I thought he was always off wasting time on stupid stuff. Instead he was off with Matt and the others trying to save two worlds. I found out Matt was a lot more than just a rock-star. He was a hero, so was my brother. Both of them were the real deals." Jun shuddered thinking back to when she was with everyone else watching the final battle. "This whole time they'd been risking everything to protect the world. Compared to that I was just…an annoyance. More than that I realized I didn't just like Matt because he could play music, I started liking him because he really was a nice guy."

Orgemon playfully snorted. "I guess nice guys finish first sometimes."

"Yeah seems like something out of the movies right? Anyway when I looked back and saw all those girls falling after him I realized I was just like them." Jun paused to look at Orgemon. A silent understanding passing between them. "I decided I wanted to get closer to Matt and my brother. Know who they really were. I wanted to be better than all those other screaming fan-girls." She glanced back at the waves watching tree leaves float helplessly down the current.

"So I guess we're both trying to be better people huh?" Orgemon joked following her gaze.

"I guess so." Jun said feeling like large weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

The two sat cross legged in silence yet the Nightmare Soldier and older Motomiya felt much closer to each other after their exchange.

"Well since we're both trying to be better people saving the Digital World seems to be a good start right?" Orgemon boastfully declared.

"I guess so." Jun laughed along.

_BEEP! _

The laughter ceased once the Digivice went off. Bolting back to their feet Orgemon readied his club while Jun grabbed a branch floating along by. About twenty feet from them a shadow appeared in the water with two red eyes glaring at them. Slowly the eyes rose above water, revealing themselves to be a part of an aquatic serpentine digimon. Its red eyes locked onto the two before letting out a fierce roar that sent ripples through the water. The black Seadramon opened his jaw firing a series of black icicles directly at them. Orgemon met it with a Pummel Whack causing the two attacks to explode once they collided.

Just as Orgemon was preparing to jump forward he saw three more icicles spending towards them. "Don't go into the water!"

* * *

><p>Please Rate and Review!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

So how was everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine's was kind of dull but hey here's to hoping for Christmas!

I do not own anything.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight: Drainage<p>

"Don't go into the water!"

That's exactly what Jun did when she saw the icicles heading for them. It wasn't like she didn't hear Orgemon, her fight-or-flight just overrode her partner's warnings. The water was cold on Jun's skin and darkness clouded her vision. She could barely see ten feet in front of her. Poking her head above the surface she saw Orgemon swimming towards a tree with Seadramon in hot pursuit. In a battle in the water her partner would be a goner in no time not to mention Jun had begun fearing water and more. For all she knew there was another Seadramon lying in wait. That thought didn't encourage her in the slightest.

Orgemon wasn't a newbie when it came to fighting opponents on their home territory. Seadramon was slippery, fierce, and could easily disappear into the water so that meant Orgemon would have to keep a hand no matter what. He was able to get in two good whacks with his bone club before the sea serpent managed to wiggle out of his grasp. "You can at the bottom of the lake but I'll still found ya' Seadramon!"

He got a hiss followed by a flurry of icicles in response. Grinning Orgemon threw a Pummel Whack at the spot the icicles ahd come from. A satisfying cry of pain rung through the area. Taking a place on a branch he looked out to see Jun had managed to climb onto a branch about eight feet above the water.

"He's coming from your left!" She called looking up from her Digivice.

His club shatter the icicles before they could reach him. "Next!"

"To your right!"

Instead of his club Orgemon used his fist to deliver an uppercut that left a bruise on Seadramon's chin. While the marine digimon was stunned Orgemon dragged it to the trunk of the tree and began smacking it over and over with his club. "Nice so hot now that you're out of water are you?" Orgemon boasted.

"Watch out for his tail Orgemon!" Jun called seeing Seadramon's tail slowly wrap around Orgemon's left foot.

Moments after his partner's voice reached his ears Orgemon felt a jolt of pain take root in his left foot. The muscles in his foot were being compressed painfully causing him to drop Seadramon to pry his tail off his leg. Seadramon took the opportunity to heft Orgemon into the air and hurl him into the water. With the Digimon Hunter gone the virus infected sea serpent turned its red eyes towards Jun. Letting out an unholy shriek it raced towards her with the grace and image of a snake through grass. Bracing her body for another round of extreme running and dodging Jun kept the scream building in her mouth down. When Seadramon lunged towards the branch with its jaws wide open Jun dived into the water, noting the snapping of the tree branch behind her.

Not looking back or thinking about the twelve foot long serpent behind her Jun swam as fast as she could towards the nearest tree. Grabbing onto the bark she climbed upward just in time to avoid being impaled by the black icicles. Seadramon prepared to fire another volley only to find Orgemon had his arms wrapped tightly around his neck. This time the digital ogre refused to let go even with Seadramon dove deep beneath the water. Jun could hear the snarls and biting then a sudden snap followed by a feint green light painting the top of the water.

Jun waited a minute, then two before Orgemon resurfaced with a trumpet grin on his face. "I'm guessing you gave him a Pummel Whack to the head?"

"Yep but I found something awesome; a tunnel!" Orgemon pointed at the water which was formerly at his waist was now a little below it. "The water's receding, being drained somewhere."

"Could it lead to the coast?" Jun asked.

"I don't know…but I'm going to scout it out." Orgemon said surprising Jun. "I've hunted marine digimon before so don't worry I can hold my breath for a while." Realizing that wasn't what Jun was thinking Orgemon dove back beneath the water then came up holding a collection of teeth she assumed he'd pulled from Seadramon during their battle.

Jun watched in silent awe as he broke off a tree branch the size of a baseball bat and began sharpening some of its ends. From some of his pouches he withdrew some string and a strange jell-like substance that made Jun's stomach crawl. It took about six minutes, afterwards Orgemon was a holding a make-shift club with three sharp teeth driven through it. Holding the club Jun felt a sense of power and safety she hadn't felt since she'd first arrived in the Dark Ocean. Now she had something to fight with.

Taking out her Digivice Jun pointed it at Orgemon and clicked one of the side buttons. A blinking dot came up on the screen. "I'll be tracking you from here okay? Orgemon…please be careful."

The Digimon Hunter gave her a thumbs-up before once more disappearing into the water leaving Jun alone. Almost as soon as Orgemon left it began to rain again. Staring at her reflection in the water Jun wondered how much she'd changed and how long it had been since she was in the real world.

Her hair was wet and stuck to her dirty face giving her something of a wild girl look. Whatever parts of her clothes weren't stained by mud were soaked or torn by the ever present water. There were a few small cuts along her arms and face that would hopefully leave no scars. Still, Jun felt she would be getting a scar from this ordeal, she already had enough mental ones to last a lifetime.

_Did Davis ever have to put up with any of this?_ If her brother did then Jun swore she'd show her little brother a lot more respect than she'd previously been. God she wished she could call him, call her parents or anyone who could get her out.

Overhead lightning split the sky lightning up the lake in a pale light. All it did was empathize the sheer lack of color the world possessed. Just looking at the landscape seemed to drain whatever life was left in her. What could of world was this anyway? Who lived here besides this fish-men and why the hell would anyone want to fight over it? Jun hadn't heard any roars or attacks being called in some time so she could only assume whoever was fighting had decided to take a break. Jun didn't mind that at all.

She watched the water slowly recede little by little as she waits for Orgemon to return. Even if the water did recede enough she wasn't going to move. If she did then when Orgemon came back he'd be in a mad panic searching for her and they'd have no solid way of contacting each other.

She found a few rocks to throw, it helped her pass the time. Between skipping rocks and watching the wind rustle the leaves Jun had never felt more at peace. Despite the tranquility she kept her senses alert, her hands always ready to move towards her club in case something came at her.

_I wonder if the others are looking for me. _Immediately the thought was dismissed when she realized while she may not have changed everyone's opinion of her but that didn't mean no one would have noticed she was missing. Davis definitely would be but would they find her? Orgemon said this place wasn't a part of the Digital World so would he even know where to look? _If only I could send some kind of message! Let them know I'm not in the Di- _

"Ow!" Orgemon's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Watch where you're throwing those things!"

Blinking back into reality Jun saw Orgemon emerging from the water holding a hand over his head where her rock had hit him. "Sorry about that. Were you able to find anything?"

"Hell yeah I was! There's a tunnel that leads to an underground network, when I came up I could smell seawater blowing throughout the whole place."

Jun wanted to smile but an ugly thought burrowed its way into her mind then materialized on her face. "You said there was a network right? What if we end up getting lost under there?"

Orgemon proudly shook his head pointing to what Jun assumed was his noise. "Not a problem! All we have to do is follow my nose and we'll be at the coast in no time!"

Orgemon's logic was sound in Jun's mind, provided his nose didn't lead them in circles. Both of them took what was probably the largest gulp of air they'd ever taken then dived into the water. Naturally Jun could barely see anything beyond four feet due to the darkness of the water. Luckily all she had to do was keep sight of Orgemon and that would do. Said digimon already knew his partner would only be able to hold her breath for so long so without warning he grabbed her by the wrist, brought her close enough for her arms to wrap around his neck and he swam as harder as he could. The action surprised Jun immensely. If she could have then she would have given Orgemon a smile and thank you for his consideration, alas it would have to wait for later.

The deeper they went the darker the water got. Pieces of wood and leaves floated past them as they swam through the tunnel Orgemon had mentioned earlier. It wasn't exactly spacey but enough for the two to move without complications. With her arms still locked around her partner's waist Jun looked at the walls to find small objects that seemed to glow in the darkness of the water. For a second they looked almost like diamonds stuck in the wall. Gently she reached her hand out to touch one only for it to disappear just as she was about to grasp it.

_Damn it Jun don't do that! _Orgemon barked in his head. Jun had to keep her arms wrapped around him at all times or else who knows what would end up happening. Making a sharp right turn Orgemon pace quickened when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick up. _Shit! _Something was following them? How, it didn't matter. What did matter was moving as fast as he could to the lagoon he'd land marked earlier. The semi-silence of the tunnel was disrupted thanks to the heavy breathing of their pursuer moving towards them at an unnatural speed.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! _

To the both of them the sound of the Digivice going off was the equivalent of a fire alarm going off. What neither realized it wasn't their pursuer that was setting it off, it was the surge of air that was ripping through the tunnel at break near speeds. For all of Jun's might she couldn't hold onto Orgemon when the torrent hit. Before Orgemon could even reach out to her he was swept away too, silently screaming her name into the abyss. Compared to what she as feeling now everything else was a ride on the swing. Jun's lungs filled instantly with dirty water she wanted desperately to spit out only to realize that was all that was around her.

Back and forth she was tossed and turned by the current. Her face and back repeatedly hit against the cavern walls every eight seconds though not hard enough to break anything. Scraps of wood and leaves flew into Jun's face followed by wrappers and even cans. Garbage, she was being battered by freaking_ garbage._ Despite the situation Jun thought that had to be good, it meant they must have been near or close to civilization. Her arms helplessly failed from side to side trying to grab onto anything but the current was too strong. She felt her hands slide against the cavern wall then through open water.

_I've got to get out of here! Anywhere but here! _Jun's mind frantically thought while her eyes scanned the darkness for some sign of light. The water feeling her lungs and stinging her eyes screamed for her mind to work faster. So did her back which had begun aching from all the tossing and slamming.

It was brief but she saw it, a light that faintly broke through the darkness of the water. The maroon haired girl had just enough strength and thought left to use her club as an anchor, burying the spiked tip into the wall. _Just focus on the light! Focus on the light…focus on the light…_She kept telling herself as the light began to grow dimmer. _Davis…mom…dad…Sora…Mimi…Matt…_

Jun saw all their faces just above the water. All laughing and smiling, she wanted to be there with them. She wanted to see them again, not die in some tunnel in some forsaken black and white hell.

With the last bit of strength Jun had she pushed herself forward until she felt cold air brush against her fingers. Forgetting everything she'd heard about rising out of water too fast she practically rammed her head through the surface. At the first sign of stable land she hulled herself forward, planting her club down then falling to all fours. Jun coughed and wheezed everything she'd unknowingly swallowed while underwater. She didn't dare look at it for fear of vomiting more than she already was.

She hadn't barfed this much since she'd accidentally eaten that spoiled piece of chocolate in seventh grade.

Rolling onto her back Jun's breathe continued to come out rigid though much more ease. The air she'd been so desperate to breathe smelled of a mix of trash, sludge, and sea water. In other words it was totally disgusting but still better than the water.

"Yep, next vacation anything near the water is totally out." Jun muttered wiping her mouth off with her sleeve. She wasn't expecting something to answer her pathetic quip but she heard something go off as soon as she finished. "Huh?"

Peering to her left Jun's mind almost shut down at what she saw. There, as if glued into the wall was a TV screen, not that big in size but still large enough to generate a sizable amount of light. The screen was totally blue and constantly emitting that eternally annoying buzz sound it always did whenever it was on the fritz. Upon closer examination Jun discovered the TV had cables running from its back into the wall. That was what caught Jun's interest. The cables disappeared into a carved hole that she assumed ran through the entire place. More cables broke out of the cavern then disappeared back into the tunnels that continued onward into darkness. Turning her attention to the lagoon pool Jun's stomach did another somersault at the sight of trash floating to the surface.

Hosting her club Jun let herself relax for a few minutes before proceeding into the darkness with her Digivice clipped to her waist. It turned out she wouldn't need it as much as she thought she would. More mini-TV screens lined the walls of the tunnels, all of them stuck on the same blue screen.

_CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! _

"First sign of hard civilization I find and it's stupid garbage. Wonderful." Jun muttered while her feet crushed the dozens of items. Not a good five steps could be taken without stepping on some form of garbage or worn out object. "I've got to be under the town or something. That's the only place that could produce this much garbage." Faintly Jun wondered what kind of town it was given how much trash she was stepping on. Teddy bears, soda cans, bottles, pieces of boxes, watches, broken glass (which she did her utmost to avoid), toys, and scraps of metal. Seeing no opening in the ceiling Jun theorized it all must have flowed down just like she had. _It feels like I've been flushed down the toilet. _

Under the light of a nearby TV screen Jun paused to reach for her Digivice. _Orgemon…_Jun didn't need to see Orgemon's face to know the fear and shock he felt at losing her. He'd vowed to protect and losing her had probably made him feel like a failure. Knowing full well what that felt like she began tinkering with the gadget. The screen remained fuzzy but she could just barely hear the sound of her partner's breathing.

"Orgemon? Orgemon can you hear me? Please Orgemon come in!" She called repeatedly.

"J-J-J-Jun? JUN! W-Wh-u?"

Jun could barely make out what Orgemon was saying so she figured she might as well let him know she was alright. "Listen I'm alright! I think I came up through that lagoon you mentioned! I'm in some underground tunnel filled with trash and TV screens!"

"M-Me t-t-too! Hav-y…our-your…scent! Do-ove!"

The signal cut off right after Orgemon finished. Jun considered Orgemon's warning about not moving but softly chuckled at it. "Not move? How the hell can he ask me not to move when I'm stuck down here in some…"

_DRIP! DRIP! DRIP! _

Dead silence overtook Jun. _Of course…why couldn't it have been any different here? _Water. Puddles, leaky pipes, and small streams. Jun hadn't noticed any of it until she was left alone. Even as she leaned against the ground she could feel the moisture on the wall. Oddly enough even some of the TVs seemed wet yet they showed no signs of malfunction aside from the fuzzy screen.

_Why is this place full of so much water anyway? _Jun wondered continuing on her way albeit at a much slower place. The cave hadn't been cold before yet at that moment Jun could have sworn she felt a wintery breeze flood the cave. With her wet clothes stinking to her skin, her club raised, and her cuts and bruises she could only imagine how she looked like in the dim light of the screens. Stopping at a mirror she got a good look; she looked like a character in a horror movie.

That didn't make her feel better in the tiniest way possible.

_DRIP! DRIP! DRIP! _

Jun's heart rate immediately spiked up resulting in a knee-jerk reaction. With a cry she spun around swinging her club at nothing but empty air.

_DRIP! DRIP! DRIP! _

Was it her imagination or had the water level inside the cavern risen? Now it almost touched the ankles of her feet. Had it also gotten colder too? The numbness was spreading from her toes up towards her knees then it stopped once it reached her head. All too late Jun realized the coldness wasn't from the water…it was from the fear.

_THIMP! _

If Jun had to guess it sounded like something with webbed feet was walking through the water. It was getting closer and closer until Jun could see it turning the corner.

It the dim light provided by the TV its appearance appeared all the more terrifying. It was one of the fish-men from before. Barely over six feet tall, aquatic yet humanoid, and its red eyes shining through the smoky mist that covered its body. Drops of water rolled off its skin onto the ground. Its webbed hands twitched erratically as it stared down Jun in the hallway.

Its pale yellow eyes stood out in the black and white world like beacons.

Once its mouth opened a low, scratchy, inhuman moan left its fat lips. No earthly creature could make a sound so…so…_repulsive _as it was doing to Jun. The moan practically put Jun's whole body on lock down.

_THIMP! THIMP! _

Jun stood totally frozen even as the creature took two steps towards her. The ghostly moan was replaced with a throaty voice that wasn't much of an improvement, "Huuuuummmman."

The way it scratched out the word shocked Jun out of stupor. Her first impulse was to run, scream, or just smack the thing upside the head…but she wouldn't. Her life had been in enough danger and Orgemon had taught her enough to know sometimes it's better to wait. Even if it meant burying the fear racing through her body a mile a minute.

It took another step forward, this time reaching its hand out. "Nooooot…her. Not…the one. But…stiiiiiillllll…nnnnneeeeeded."

It kept coming towards her. Six feet…five feet…four feet…three feet…two feet…

That was when Jun swung her club, right when the creature was about to lung for her. The fish-man had fear on her, she had speed and adrenaline pumping through her veins. She brought her club to the back of the fish-man's head sending it crashing into the mirror. Oddly when it moaned in pain it filled Jun's heart with a sense of joy. It was sickening but the joy was better than the fear.

When it pulled itself up from the ground to lung at her again Jun swung her club upward catching the creature in the chin. She hit the creature, harder, this time knocking it to the side of the cave.

The fish-man slumped to the ground in an unmoving hemp.

_DRIP! DRIP! DRIP! _

Jun's eyes remained glued to the dark lump. Dear God, had she _killed _it? _This thing isn't a digimon so that means it can't die right? Right? _Something cold and dark grasp Jun's heart causing her breathe to turn rigid and her knees to buckle. Regardless it was a living creature. She'd just killed a living creature.

Whether luck or not the thought didn't have a lot of time to sick in. The fish-man turned into a complete lump of mist then faded away into absolute nothing. Jun was left kneeling there in front of the busted mirror and the TV screen's light illuminating her face.

_BEEP! _

Bringing her Digivice up to the light Jun saw a dot appear on the screen. On the left side corner a cartoonish digital image of Orgemon came up bringing a smile to Jun's face. Grabbing her club Jun stood up and peered into the cave. Rather or not the fish-men were living creatures or not didn't matter. There were hostile to her and likely Orgemon too. That told Jun all she needed to know when she ran into the next one.

She was less scared were it spotted her as it came up out of a lagoon pool. It took two strikes this time to dissipate it. There was no remorse in her eyes by the fourth one. She knew what had to be done if she was going to make it out of this alive.

If she had to then she was going bash in every fish-man's head.

* * *

><p>When smelled the booze she knew it had to have been liquor this time. That was only slightly better than drugs. <em>Slightly<em>.

Chiyo had grown used to avoiding the empty beer bottles and glass strewn throughout the apartment. Since she'd entered from the window she didn't have to see her mother's half nude body asleep on the couch or on the floor. Chiyo didn't care to know which or check to see if she was around glass or anything sharp.

Truth was deep down Chiyo wouldn't have minded anything sharp being around her. If she rolled over and there was a shard of glass there…

Chiyo sighed as she reached the door to her bedroom, shaking away the thoughts she didn't want to focus on. Her door was still closed and lock. That was good, the last two times she'd came back it'd been busted wide open. Taking out her key and sliding it into the lock Chiyo pushed the door open as quietly as possibly without awaking her mother in the sleeping living room.

Inside her room had remained since the last time she'd had to clean it. The smell of alcohol hadn't made its way into it which she was thankful for. Her bed was up against the wall on her right while her desk sat just past it, pressing against the wall and right next to the window. To her right was her dresser and TV, both untouched like everything else. If anyone walked in, they wouldn't have been surprised by the lack of…personalization given Chiyo's personality. Most teenagers did something to decorate their rooms rather it be a poster or shelf composed of their favorite items. Chiyo didn't do that. Besides the computer on her desk and school-related books there was nothing in her room that spoke of her interests or hobbies. It was totally blank containing no sense of self.

However in an apartment ruled by a ragging drug addict and drunk this wasn't unnatural, it was needed.

Once Chiyo was inside she locked the door. The door had two locks, one on the outside and one on the inside. Chiyo was the only one with a key yet that still didn't stop her mother or one of her boyfriends from finding someway inside. More than once she'd come back to find her door either with a hole in it or torn off the hinges. That's how she'd gotten so good at repairing doors, furniture and locksmithing.

After examining her room she moved to her dresser, moving to the side only a few inches. Tearing back the wallpaper to reveal a small hatch she pulled until a nice little man-hole in the wall was made. Worming her way inside she pulled the dresser back just before she completely disappeared into the manhole. Inside was a small ladder she climbed up until she reached a hatch she forced it open.

For the past four years she'd been grateful they'd lived in one of the few houses with an attic. IN the years since the accident she'd turned to the dusty room as a haven against the horrors of the outside world. Her mother didn't know and even if she did she would never figure out where she hid herself because she'd totally forgotten about the attic. After she met Daemon she began cleaning up the place, turning it into a miniature storage room. It had become more of a home to her than her room or the entire house.

Boxes containing countless items from chemicals to climbing equipment she'd bought were lined along the wall. Square in the center was a shiny new laptop she'd been eying for months on end. First she booted it up then began her hacking. First she looked at the school's schedule and hacked into Ken's computer. In the dim light provided by the lamp and the computer screen Chiyo's eyes seemed to be near devoid of all feelings expect for one; anger.

_All you're getting is that one night while Ken's going to get hundreds of them. Does that seem fair to you? _

Once she'd finished she brought up a map of the Dark Ocean. From what she could tell Daemon was wining though Dagomon was still putting up a good fight. Her "partner" controlled sixty-seven percent of the Dark Ocean but had hit one hell of a road-block from there. It wasn't just Dagomon that he was fighting against. No now they had to deal with those Remnants. They were so small Chiyo first thought they wouldn't matter but they were sneaky, unwilling to let two super evil digimon rule over them. Daemon told her they'd been chipping off fragments of Control Spires and taking them back to their underground tunnels. Chiyo wanted to have those tunnels mapped out but the Demon lord of wrath kept refusing her time and time again.

Chiyo theorized that's where Jun probably was. If the Remnants had caught her they'd keep her hostage then use her to bargain with the DigiDestined for Kari. If she could clue them into where she was then maybe they'd be able to mount a rescue…and fall right into Daemon's trap.

Chiyo's typing stopped instantly when the picture began to form in her head. Davis's relief shattered by anger and fury. Jun's joy at seeing her friends turning into fear at the sight of the evil overlord. And Chiyo would be the cause of all of it…

In the back of her head Chiyo felt a jolt of pain burrow into her brain then coil around her brain. With her eyes snapped shut she couldn't the see the flickering of the lights, the computer crashing for a split second or the green aura around her.

"Kari Kamiya…" Her voice sounded deeper and darker than it ever did. Even if the DigiDestined were trapped they had T.K. and Kari, the bearers of the crests of Hope and Light. They'd be able to stop Daemon, they'd be able to destroy him. _Kari _would be able to destroy him. She'd take the credit, she'd have Davis's admiration and thanks.

The thought filled with hatred and an overwhelming desire to see her light snuffed out.

Chiyo got back to typing and after a few minutes shut her laptop. Next she went digging through some of her boxes, finding her climbing equipment and tools. She had been ordered to drive Ken insane but that didn't mean she couldn't go after Kari like she'd always wanted to. Daemon would understand, besides it also furthered his plan.

_The more hate, fear, jealousy, pride, and even lust you can stir up the better. Do that and you'll have your dreams back Chiyo._

* * *

><p>All in all Jun would say she wasn't doing too bad, she destroyed eight fish-men by the time she'd reached another lagoon pool. She waited in the shadows while another fish-men came out of the water holding something in his webbed hands. It gingerly held up the item with a grin on its shadowy face. Jun saw it was a small piece of obsidian metal. Keeping a gasp from escaping she realized it was a piece of a Control Spire. In the hands of the creature the fragment hummed with a purple aura slowly growing around it.<p>

Even though she wasn't visibly to the creature Jun could feel the same feeling of despair and darkness ripple through her body as before. The courage she'd built up was being slowly drained away.

The fish-man grunted when it realized the shard was drawing strength from a nearby source. Whether by luck or brains it turned in Jun's direction and began to move forward.

Realizing her cover was blown Jun sprung out swinging her club only to have it blocked.

"Eep!" Jun yelled.

Shrugging off the club the fish-man lunged at Jun with more speed than its brethren had. Jun barely dodged the first one and nearly was back handed by the other arm. Spinning around the fish-man lunged at Jun again, this time knocking Jun to her feet. Fear returned to Jun's body in spades when the creature tackled her to the ground, the only thing keeping it at bay was her club.

_God these things are ugly and they stink! _Jun thought in her mind. This thing wasn't going to get her! Not after taking down nearly ten of these monsters. Freeing her left hand she slammed it into the creature's face, twice. It howled in pain dropping the fragment and rolling off of Jun. Kicking the shard away Jun brought her club down onto the creature's abdomen then again in the chest. When it still didn't disappear Jun flipped her club over so the sharpened pieces stuck out.

The fish-man's howl probably stretched a good while only to be drained out by the licking and rushing of water. Finally it went still before dissolving into dark vapor.

Leaning on her club Jun eyed the shard for a moment. A trail of dark mist flowed from one of the tunnels to her right giving her an idea where to go next. Before leaving Jun kicked the shard into the lagoon pool.

Down the right tunnel the presence of pipes and cables grew along with the number of TVs. Unlike the others the screens weren't just static, they had pictures that could be slightly made out. Jun had to lean in close to make out some of the pictures and sounds yet all of them continued filling Jun's heart with dread.

After about ten minutes of walking Jun came to the source of the noises. And God did she wish she'd taken a different tunnel.

The room was the size of a classroom, cables and pipes running through the walls. Multiple poodles littered the ground along with toys, broken instruments, torn clothing, rings, keys, and sheets of paper. Dozens of screens occupied the room, some with speakers, some without, all broadcasting sounds of horror and despair. In one Jun saw a man cradling a woman's dead body with a smoking car in the background, another of a man getting shot from the view of a security camera, two cars racing down a highway only to crash into each other forming a giant fireball, a child crying as he's dragged away by a man while a woman looks helplessly on, a teenage boy sobbing on his bed with his back turned to Jun, two people having sex underneath the sheets of a bed with silent sobbing in the background, a teenage girl jumping from the top of a bridge, and many more.

All of it, the moans, the screaming, all of it brought Jun to her knees with tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "What…what…what the hell kind of place is this?"

* * *

><p>So how was this chapter? Any questions? Guess on what's going to happen? Feel free to leave them in the comments!<p> 


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